


The Life of Will Graham

by dancey94



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Angst, Books, Dating, Depression, Domesticity, First Time, Fluff, Hand Jobs, High School, Kissing, Loneliness, M/M, Masturbation, Nightmares, Romance, Self-Harm, Shower Sex, Slow Build, affair at workplace, psychologically abusive family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-16 15:29:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 44,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4630452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancey94/pseuds/dancey94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will hates monthly family meetings. It's the one day every thirty days when he's close to commiting suicide. All his cousins come with their partners or even kids and he's alone. And he's okay with this. But his family don't approve.<br/>One day the school he works in hires a new biology teacher.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Will swallows the last bite of his piece of cake and sighs. He looks through the window and drifts off to his usual daydreaming. Every month his whole family gathers to have dinner and share their stories from the whole month. Every thirty days Will has to endure a few hours of his relatives bragging about their trips or problems and telling an excessive portion of inappropriate jokes. Will wonders if every family is like this. Racist, sexist and inappropriate.

He has indulged in self harm twice now and no one knows about it of course. Sometimes he wants to scream, yell all faults in his relatives’ faces. But he doesn’t. He deludes himself that there will come a day when everything will be okay.

“And when do we get to see a new Mrs Graham?” asks one of Will’s cousins.

“Huh?”

“Ah, yes. Will. When will you finally settle down?” asks Will’s grandma.

Finally. The most embarrassing comments always left for last.

“I told you, grandma. I’m not interested in that”

Again, the same excuse, the sentence he has been repeating for some time now knowing he won’t be given peace anyway.

“You’re twenty eight, Will. It’s high time you got married”

Will rolls his eyes. His family can be easily described with this one sentence. It’s like there’s nothing else to do or achieve in life other than a family of one’s own. Will hates that. He hates the simple and fusty beliefs his family represent. He always wanted something more from life. He’s not exactly sure what and how to achieve it but he needs more. He’s been born to deny his family’s views.

“There’s no legal act stating when or if one should start a family” Will defends.

“Nonsense. Do you want to spend your life like aunt Mary?”

Oh, yes. The aunt Mary story. Will has heard this one about a hundred times now. It never gets old. His poor aunt who never got married, even when she had a chance, and now she lives alone in her house. She’s probably even more lonely now that her dog died.

Will wonders why and when exactly she simply stopped attending these sweet family gatherings. And why the hell has he not done the same yet?!

He’s the black sheep of the family anyway. He’s the outsider, the failure, it seems. Although he graduated from university, got the degree, and has a job he always wanted, he’s underappreciated simply because he’s not married yet. Tasteless.

What was the question again? Oh, yes. Aunt Mary. The poor woman who went mad a little.

“It’s been ages since I was at a wedding” says another cousin.

Will only rolls his eyes again.

Finally, they split up and Will is free to go. Everyone leaves in their own way.

*****

Will walks home and he knows he’ll have to take an aspirin. His head hurts but more still hurts his heart. He doesn’t have anyone, so what? Honestly, after all those years he cannot imagine being in a relationship. He got used to his life and to the lonely evenings.

He enters his flat and goes to the kitchen. He pours himself some water to swallow the pill. He takes off his shirt and goes to the bedroom to hang it. He frowns upon catching his own reflection in the mirror. He’s slim, maybe even too slim. But he still has a swollen belly. No wonder, he just returned from a family dinner where his grandma always cooks too much and everyone ends up bloated.

His skin is pale, his chest smooth as an infant’s. He has a slightly crooked nose and generally unsymmetrical face. He’s not muscular, not really. He tried going at the gym once and he was going there for a month until he finally gave up. That was not for him.

He takes off his pants then the rest of his clothing. He goes to the bathroom, takes a shower and returns to his bedroom. He looks for his diary. Pathetic. He keeps a diary. No wonder he’s alone.

He goes to the living room, turns on the tv and starts writing. It relaxes him, helps him concentrate and organise his thoughts. Then Will grabs a pile of tests to grade and places it on the table. Before he starts cursing at his students’ mistakes and laziness, he goes to the kitchen and makes himself green tea. It helps after those excessively nourishing family dinners.

He returns with the tea and starts grading the tests. It doesn’t look as bad as he thought. The kids finally prepared, it seems. He’s glad to give mostly positive marks and then he packs the tests into his bag.

He finishes the tea and watches the news. Then he turns on his laptop, checks his inbox and then plays a game online. He’s tired. Those family gatherings always make him exhausted and depressed.

*****

He’s in the middle of explaining the difference between _their_ and _they’re_ for the thousandth time when the door to the classroom opens and an impeccably dressed older man walks in.

“Excuse me” says the man as quiet as he can “May I borrow some chalk? I have no idea where to get some”

“Um, of course. Please, take as much as you need” Will points at the small basket with chalk on his desk.

The students laugh at Will’s unfortunate wording and Will rolls his eyes. The man takes a piece of chalk and leaves, smiling warmly to Will.

Will continues explaining the most basic and obvious grammatical rules until the bell rings, indicating the end of the lesson.

Will goes to the teacher’s room, resigned after another failed attempt at educating young people. He sees the man who interrupted his classes talking to one of his colleagues. Will takes a seat by the table and takes out an apple from his bag.

After two bites, Will sees the man take a seat next to him.

“I didn’t have a chance to introduce myself. I’m Hannibal Lecter, a new biology teacher”

The man extend his hand for Will to shake and so Will follows the social convention.

“I’m Will Graham. I teach English. Or at least try to”

Hannibal grins.

“Is it really so bad?”

“Actually, I notice improvement. The most recent test can be considered a success because everyone passed”

“They say it’s not always the pupil’s fault” Hannibal observes.

“Are you…suggesting I’m a bad teacher? Is this supposed to be an insult?”

“No, no. Forgive me. That came out wrong. I shouldn’t have said that. As you can see, I’m probably as bad with words as your students”

“Sorry, I get offended too easily. And I had a tough day yesterday”

“What happened? If I may ask”

“Oh, just a family meeting. We have those every month and so every month my family makes me feel like a failure. But no matter. I’m not going to indulge in self-pity now. Why are you here? I mean, why did they hire you? We have a biologist”

“Not anymore. Apparently your colleague went on a maternity leave. Didn’t you hear?”

“Oh” Will is genuinely surprised “No, I didn’t know. I’ll miss her. She used to bring us cookies”

“I hope I will be a suitable replacement. I may even bring you cupcakes from time to time”

Hannibal smirks and Will smiles shyly. The bell rings again and Will has to go.

“It was nice talking to you. I hope I’ll see you soon again”

“The pleasure was mine”

*****

Will goes home after the last lesson. He puts down his bag and goes to the kitchen. He makes himself tea and checks the cabinets for some instant soups to make for dinner.

He turns on the tv and watches the news. A tornado on the other end of the country and diplomatic agreements somewhere in the Middle East. Will starts wondering.

How is it that his relatives constantly say about trips to Europe or Asia or anywhere outside of Baltimore and he never leaves. He’s never felt the need to explore the world. Sure, he dreamt many times about abandoning everything and leaving somewhere far away but it’s only wishful thinking after every monthly family torture festival.

Will looks at his wrists. His veins are thick and clearly visible and for a moment, just a split second, he imagines the veins being cut open, blood no longer pumping inside but outside, a slow trickle of scarlet liquid indicating his imminent fall into darkness.

Will shakes his head, like he was shaking off the dream and he stands up. He takes his wallet and keys and leaves. He goes to the cinema. He has no idea what they’re currently playing but he wants to watch anything. He needs to leave the flat and not be present there for even a few hours.

It’s still light outside, though it’s late afternoon and it’s October. There’s going to be a Halloween party soon. And since Will has nowhere to go and no one ever invites him, he’ll volunteer to be a chaperone at the school’s party. Another year he’ll wear his famous orange pants. Why did he even bought them?

Will buys a ticket and enters the big room where the movie will be playing. He chooses a thriller and hopes he won’t be the only loser to have come alone. He sees a few couples and a group of friends; they will probably be loud during the whole movie and they will laugh and throw the popcorn all over the place.

Will takes his seat, in a fair distance from anyone. He spots a woman sitting alone in the last seat of his row. He smiles. He won’t be alone. The lights dim and another woman hurriedly takes two stairs at a time to stop at Will’s level. She brushes against his knees when she goes past him and joins the woman at the end of the row. Will sighs.

He leaves the room last, after everyone else. He walks slowly through the hall and our of the sudden, he hears his name called out.

“Will!?”

Graham turns to look for the person calling him and sees two men nicely dressed and smiling. One of them is the new biology teacher.

“Will, I remember correctly?”

“Yeah. Yes”

“Allow me to introduce you to my friend, Frederick. Frederick, this is Will. He teaches English. Or at least tries to” Hannibal says with a smirk and winks at Will.

Graham shakes the man’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you”

“Are you here alone?” Hannibal asks.

“What? No. No, um… my friend is in the restroom”

How pathetic is that? Coming to the cinema alone and lying to almost a stranger about it.

“I believe we need to go or else we’ll be late for the screening” Frederick says looking at his watch.

“Yes. I’ll see you at school, Will”

Will nods and watches the men walk away. Was this awkward?

Graham goes home and takes out a bottle of beer from the fridge. He looks through the window. There seems to be nothing magnificent waiting for him in this life.

He sits on the couch and turns on the tv. News, bad horror movies, porn. The porn is bad, too. Will watches four minutes of plotless fucking and sighs.

He finishes the beer and throws out the bottle. He goes to the bathroom and takes a shower. He tries to recall the face expression of the woman from the porno. It seemed so fake. People in porn always exaggerate their reactions. Will looks at his dick. No, not tonight. He’s bored but he’s also brought down and jerking off isn’t the best idea.

Will lies on the bed and takes a book he has been reading for the last two weeks. It’s not thrilling or making you root for the characters but Will found himself curious how the story ends. After thirty minutes though, his eyes and brain are too tired to follow the plot so he puts the book down. He falls asleep.

He dreams he’s drowning. The level of water rises with his every attempt to escape. The liquid engulfs him, his whole body, and Will feels his lungs slowly fill with water. He finds it more and more difficult to breathe. Then he feels acute pain flowing through him. It’s like he’s been poisoned. His body becomes heavier with every second until he finally closes his eyes in surrender.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long and i'm afraid the next chapter will not be soon as well because i'm leaving to Turkey on holidays ^^ i'll be writing the next chapter on a beach ^^

How do you even start explaining that you provide the necessary information about English language to high school kids who think they know the language (since they speak it) and they can’t honestly care less about the proper form and spelling (since on the Internet you use mostly short versions of the words). Will faces this dilemma every day and still hasn’t figured out why he continues to try.

He himself uses shorter versions of some words and more often than not because the person he speaks to wouldn’t understand the proper version.

Will likes days like this, when his job is to explain literary motifs rather than grammatical correctness.

Will takes out a copy of Macbeth and leans against his desk.

“Okay guys. I asked you to read a book for today. Has anyone even remembered to do this?”

Some of the students seem genuinely surprised, some raise their hands, either to leave to the toilet to avoid punishment or to indicate that they did, in fact, read the book.

Will sighs and gives away the handouts with a fragment from the text. He spends the lesson trying to explain the role of the witches in the play. Of course, he was expecting inappropriate comments when he said that the witches represent the deepest unspoken desires in Macbeth. You can’t avoid them with a bunch of adolescents who are at the stage of making terrible puns, pranks and making everything about sex.

The lesson ends and Will walks into the teacher’s room. He finds most of the teachers gathered in the place and he takes a step forward to investigate what is happening. He sees the new biology teacher, Lecter, surrounded by the rest of the staff. He brought a basket full of cupcakes. Chocolate with sprinkle.

Will smiles. He can feel his stomach smile, too, since he hasn’t eaten yet.

“Will. Here you are. Please, take one. I thought that could be something to say hello to everyone” Hannibal smiles and hands Will one cupcake.

“Thanks”

Will takes the sweet pastry and moves to the corner of the room. He hates eating in company.

Lecter stays where he was and a headmaster approaches him. They laugh and talk and Will cannot remember if he was ever so friendly with the man. Not that the headmaster is mean or something; Will just never cared for particularly friendly relations with him.

Will eats the cupcake and hears two of his colleagues talk about Lecter.

“He’s such a good cook and he doesn’t wear a ring. Maybe it’s true what they say”

“Or maybe he’s still looking for the one”

Will rolls his eyes at that. Is Hannibal another lonely dude like him but he just couldn’t care less? Well, Will doesn’t care. He finishes the cupcake, wipes his mouth and leaves the room.

He goes to the classroom to prepare the handouts and his little speech about how the tests went really well.

The rest of the day goes without any obstructions and Will goes home. He walks down the street and hears voices enacting from the open windows. He hears conversations and arguments he knows all too well because he’s had them. It’s easy to predict the outcome now. He wonders how it’s funny that there are no new reasons for arguments. Like, the life changes and technology develops and the civilization is not what it used to be, yet people still fight over the same things.

Will does some shopping. He buys pasta and a sauce that is a powder he needs to pour into the water. It’s simple but it’s enough. He doesn’t need more.

And so another day has passed and there are no developments in Will’s life. Nothing new.

*******

He ends another class and goes to the teacher’s room. Finally. He’ll have some free time before the next lesson because some students went on a school trip. He makes himself a coffee and sits by the huge table. There’s no one there. He cannot be happier. He can eat and read something.

He takes his mug and sips on the coffee. He opens a book he borrowed from the library and continues reading where he last stopped.

The quiet atmosphere is suddenly interrupted as the door opens and Lecter comes in. He seems a bit resigned and upset though he smiles to Will. The man sits heavily on one of the chairs, not very close to Will.

There is this urge in Will to ask if something’s wrong. He appreciates that Lecter just sat down and said nothing, leaving Will alone but Will knows he’ll feel uncomfortable seeing something _is_ definitely not right.

“Um. You okay?”

Lecter turns to face Will and smiles warmly.

“Yes. I just… No one informed me that today is a school trip. I overslept, hurried to school, only to find that I don’t have to be here anyway”

“Oh. That sucks. Do you want some coffee?”

“I’ll make myself one. Thank you”

Lecter stands up and approaches the electric kettle. He looks at Will who continues reading the book since he politely asked about Lecter’s problem and there was nothing else he wanted to talk about.

“What are you reading?”

“Oh, um. Just a book. I borrowed from the library”

“So it’s not for your classes?”

“Nope. No”

“Huh”

Lecter pours the coffee into the mug and stirs the liquid. He adds sugar and some milk and takes a seat closer to Will this time.

“I was always wondering what linguists read when it’s not something academic”

“Oh you’d be surprised what kind of shit I read” Will smiles.

“Tell me. Tell me the worst”

“Well the worst would be _Fifty shades of Grey_ ” Will sees the expression on Hannibal’s face and adds “Yes, I read it. You know, as a linguist. I was being professional”

“Of course”

“But I gave up after ten pages. It was worse than the worst of my students’ essays”

Hannibal chuckles and takes a sip of his coffee.

“What about you? Do you read _not_ academic writing?”

“I do. I like detective stories and thrillers. You know, I enjoy discovering who’s the killer and the story behind the murder”

“Oh”

“But I also like a bit less dark stuff. I liked _The Painted Veil_ or _Atonement_ ”

“Huh. Never read them. I’ll make sure to check them out”

They drink the coffee and then Lecter speaks again.

“Do you like cinema? I recall meeting you the other evening”

“Yeah, well… it was more out of boredom than the actual passion for the film”

Will is aware he didn’t return the question and he wonders if Lecter will reveal his opinion on the topic anyway. He doesn’t. He just nods and drinks the coffee.

“What about you? Did you enjoy the movie?”

“Yes. My friend is a fan of the cinema. He chose the title. Whenever he’s in town, we go to see something together”

“Oh”

“We used to work together in a lab. A few years ago”

“What happened that you ended up here?” Will snorts.

“Well, someone ran out of money and our contracts were terminated. Frederick was lucky enough to find a better offer while I decided to apply for the position at school. I worked there for some time until a… an incident took place”

Will looks away, not sure if he should push, but he does.

“An incident?”

“A student of mine was unhappy about his final grade and he… well, he accused me of inappropriate behaviour. He said I touched him and made him unethical propositions. Then the school found out some other details about me and well... They didn’t fire me because everything turned out to be nothing but lies and they all apologised to me but I knew there was no place for me there. I left and found a new job here. I hope it’ll be better”

“I’m sure it will” Will says confidently “Kids here are not jerks. They’ll say they hate you in your face. They won’t bother making up stories”

They both chuckle.

“Has any of them ever said it to you?”

“Nope. I remember it was difficult at the beginning but then I relaxed and I flowed with the wave. I accept them for who they are and you know, they’re still just kids who need to find their place in the world”

“Beautifully said” Hannibal comments.

The bell indicates it’s a pause and Will gets ready for the next classes. He didn’t manage to read much but he had a nice conversation and he can’t remember the last time he did that.

*******

He walks down the street after the last lesson and cannot help but borrow the book Lecter mentioned. He’s curious. It’s _tell me your favourite book and I’ll tell you who you are_ kind of thing.

He buys a beer and goes home. He makes himself some vegetables on the pan and eats it while watching tv and drinks beer to that.

His cousin calls him in the middle of his…dinner, and asks Will if he wants to go to a theme park on Saturday. There will be two other couples apart from the cousin and his wife.

“You could bring someone too. It’ll be fun”

“I don’t have anyone to bring. You know that”

“Come on, Will. I won’t believe there’s not even one nice lady teacher in the school you work”

Will rolls his eyes. There are a few. But that’s not exactly the problem.

“I’ll pass this time. You guys have fun”

Will groans. This is not getting any better. He finishes his dinner and the beer and goes to take a shower. He jerks off under the spray of hot water and it’s surprisingly easy to feel aroused. He comes in his hand and leans against the tiles. Great.

He lets the water wash over him while he tries to keep standing despite the weakness in his knees. He licks his lips and tastes the chocolate cupcake. Fuck.

He washes himself quickly and puts on red pyjamas.

He lies down on the bed and starts reading _Atonement_. It’s very nice, he thinks. Until he gets to the sex scene. It gets hot and he has to close the book for a second.

Why did he decided to do this? Why did he borrow the books?

He turns to lie on his back and moves one of his hands over his chest. He strokes his soft flesh over the fabric and loves the colour of the pyjamas. Red. Like blood. Like the colour of lust? Like fire.

He puts a bookmark in the place where he stopped reading and goes to sleep.

*******

After the second lesson is over, Will sits by his desk and enjoys the pause. He knows there will be a hoard of students crashing the place in no time so he needs to take advantage of the precious moments of solitude.

It doesn’t last long as the door opens and Will is about to scold the student for interrupting him when he sees it’s Lecter. Again.

“Forgive me for disrupting your peace but I believe I need some more chalk. May I borrow from you again?”

“Sure. But someone should definitely show you the place where you can take some”

“Are you volunteering?”

“Um…”

“It doesn’t have to be now”

“No, I’ll better show you now. Otherwise you’ll just keep ‘disrupting my peace’” Will says with a wink.

He puts the book down and Lecter smiles when he sees the title.

“You decided to read it”

“Oh, um. Yeah. The ones I’ve been reading are terrible and I was wondering-”

“What terrible shit I like to read”

Will snorts.

“Yeah. Something like that”

Lecter lifts the book and opens at the place where Will left the bookmark last evening. Will feels the blush heat his cheeks.

“Where are you?... Oh. Are you enjoying it so far?”

“Sure”

Will tries to put the book down again without touching Lecter’s hands and they leave. Will shows the man the place where there is plenty of chalk for Lecter to take. Later they split to continue providing education.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if someone likes FSOG :/ i don't mean to offend anyone  
> also - You can check out Atonement and Painted Veil ;) they are books but they are also movies ^^


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks before Halloween Will sits by his desk and looks through the window as the students work in groups on given projects.

Will frowns when he sees Hannibal in the school yard exiting the building with his students. They all sit on benches placed there and the kids listen to the man, paying complete attention to his words. Will is amazed. Is Lecter Plato now? And how is he able to keep the students’ attention for so long?

“Wish to go back to school, Mr Graham?” one of the students asks.

“What?” Will looks back to the classroom.

“You seem very interested in Mr Lecter’s class”

“No, um… I was just observing a colleague at work”

“Yeah, right”

“I never liked biology” Will confesses defensively.

“Bet Mr Lecter could find a field in biology that would interest you” another student says and the whole class laugh.

Will isn’t offended. He chuckles, too. He wishes to see himself as a fairly cool teacher, but the teacher nevertheless.

“Have all the groups already finished their projects?” Will asks and everyone calms down and gets quiet.

Will glances one more time through the window before he resumes reading the book Hannibal recommended. The time passes faster when he reads and only the bell breaks the spell and Will is back in the classroom, the students pack in a hurry and leave.

Will puts down the book and looks again at the yard. Lecter sits alone on the bench, the students must have left him as well. Will hurries to the yard and still sees Lecter enjoying the last warm days with the sun.

“May I disrupt your peace this time?” Will asks with a smirk.

“Of course”

Will sits next to Lecter and looks at the sky. It’s beautiful. The last days of summer. Soon Will will be able to put on the sweaters he likes and hide in the wool.

“I saw you from the window” Will explains.

“I thought that they could use some sun and not every lesson has to be about books and skeletons and pictures”

“I was really impressed. They listened to you. They were very focused”

“I like to think I’m a good teacher” Hannibal smiles.

“Well, there must be something about you that makes them listen”

Hannibal narrows his eyes.

“Are you suggesting I evoke fear in the students?”

“Actually, I’m getting afraid you’re a cooler teacher than I am”

“I don’t intend to compete with you. We may have different ways of teaching but that doesn’t mean one is better than the other”

Will nods and smiles.

*******

Will walks home after the last lesson and catches a glimpse of a t-shirt in the window display. A simple black t-shirt with a white skull on it. It looks cool. And Will is going to need something to wear for the school party in two weeks. He wonders if Lecter will be there.

Will steps inside the shop and takes the t-shirt to the fitting room. Looks good. Will it match his infamous orange pants? Or maybe he should buy something new to show in?

What if he actually bought a nice shirt and dark jeans and a blazer and showed up dressed like a decent guy?

Will buys the t-shirt with the skull anyway and looks for something else. A rack full of shirts, elegant and plaid catches his attention and he gives in to the image of him dressed like a real life professor. He tries on three different shirts and decides he may need one anyway, even if for the monthly festival of torture. He takes the navy blue one and leaves.

*******

Will shows up at school in his new shirt the next day and the event is such extraordinary that people can’t help but comment. He usually dresses in t-shirts and sweaters and plaid shirts so this one looks extremely elegant on him. Even the students behave differently, paying attention to what he says and following instructions.

Later in the teacher’s room Will eats an apple, careful not to spill the juices on his brand new piece of clothing. He sees a few of his colleagues check him out and he feels weird. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea? He likes being a shadow, a cool teacher, someone not fitting the rest.

“They look at you like at a prey” Will hears Lecter say and sees the man take a seat next to him.

“Yeah. I don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to wear it today”

“Probably what we all think – that you look handsome and it was a great decision” Hannibal offers a smile.

Will chuckles.

“Do I? Look good, I mean” Hannibal nods “I don’t normally wear such… not casual clothes”

“It suits you. Actually, you look good both in casual and elegant clothes. If I may suggest something…”

Will rolls his eyes but nods.

“If you want to enhance the effect, you could work on your hair as well. You tend to have it messed and it makes you look like a naughty teenager. Try combing them, maybe put them back a little to reveal your forehead and you’ll look extremely serious and mature”

“Thanks for the advice. But I think the shirt has made enough stir for today”

“It certainly has”

*******

Later that day, when Will is in his bathroom, he stands by the mirror and looks at his hair. He takes a comb and tries experimenting. He moves the hair out of his forehead. He never really noticed he has such a high forehead. And he really looks mature.

He combs the hair on one side, then on the other. Huh. He ruffles it like he usually wears it and smiles. _Like a naughty teenager_. He looks fresh this way. Like he just got out of bed. He looks cosy.

*******

One week till Halloween. Will is getting stressed out. He hates those parties.

The kids come and have fun; they dance and talk and do stuff while Will has to watch over them and he can’t even drink a beer.

Everyone knows Will is going to come as the chaperone but when he gets the list to sign up, he notices the name. Lecter. Does he have nothing better to do on Halloween? Well, it’s the day before but still.

He approaches the man during a pause.

“I saw you signed up for the Halloween party”

“Yes. I don’t have any plans for the holiday so I figured I could be useful here”

“We’ll be just watching the kids having fun” Will says not knowing if he wants to discourage Lecter or the exact opposite thing.

“I know. I was thinking… maybe to talk to the headmaster about the party. I know it’s just a dj and music and dancing and I was wondering… it would be fun to have an all night event. You know, like play them a scary movie, then some dancing, games, stuff like that”

Will seems surprised but he likes the idea a lot. Maybe not the idea of kids having fun all night while he has to watch them but maybe… just maybe he would have some fun, too.

“That does sound cool. So will you talk to the principal?”

“Tomorrow, perhaps”

*******

It’s not exactly surprising that the headmaster agrees and Lecter’s plan for the Halloween party is accepted. Will starts to wonder what he should wear for the night because he can’t imagine wearing his tight orange pants for more than ten minutes. He knows he’ll disappoint the students but maybe it’s time for him to play a role of a respected teacher.

Will looks though his trousers an jeans and his phone rings. His cousin. Great. Hopefully, not another invitation to a theme park.

“Grandma’s in the hospital”

“Oh god, what happened?”

“Oh, no, no, it’s nothing. Just a regular check up. But that means we’ll meet on 12th instead of 5th”

“Okay. So she’s all right?”

“Totally”

Great. So the family meeting on 12th and then Thanksgiving so soon after that? Two torture festivals in two weeks. Will is going to hang himself, he’s sure.

He looks through the clothes and feels the sudden need to leave his apartment or else he will end up curled up on the bed, crying. Pathetic.

He takes the wallet and decides to make a few changes in his wardrobe.

He visits a shop with clothes and starts browsing for a new pair of jeans. He hates shopping and when he likes a sweater or trousers he will wear them till they tear. It’s just the way he is. Comfort rather than looks.

A shop assistant approaches him after a few minutes of fruitless looking. A young woman, pretty, not wearing too much make up. She smiles and asks if there’s anything she can help with. He says he needs a pair of dark comfortable jeans. She looks at him, tries to take measure with her eyes and gives him three pairs.

Will goes to the fitting room. He tries on the first pair and  wonders what effect did this girl want to achieve. The jeans are tight, not at all comfortable and cups his junk in a way the orange pants do. Nope. Another pair.

This one is perfect. Not too tight but not a sack for potatoes. It emphasise his ass which he kind of likes. Good.

He tries on the last pair but they’re too big. He takes the one pair he likes but continues looking for something more. Maybe another shirt?

He finds a light blue one but the girl tells him they’re all too small for him. She offers a yellow one.

Will considers it but thinks it won’t match. He sees a green shirt on a mannequin and asks if the girl could give him that one to try on. She nods and looks for the shirt on a shelf.

Will puts it on and checks himself out in the huge mirror. Nice. It has a barely visible pattern. It matches his eyes. He’ll take it.

Will buys himself ice cream on his way home. He eat it while finishing Atonement. He decides he likes the book. Lecter may read some good stuff after all.

*******

On the night of the Halloween all night party Will showers, puts on his green shirt and the new dark jeans. He combs his hair, move some off his forehead and smiles to the mirror. He goes to school where Lecter and a few other teachers are waiting for him.

“Will! You look stunning. I see you took my advice about the hair”

“Yeah, you know, I decided to be someone else for a night”

“Oh, I believe that’s the opposite of what’s going on”

Will frowns, he doesn’t quite understand.

The teachers check if there is food and drinks and Will looks at the projector in the gym.

“You picked a scary movie?” Will asks Hannibal.

“Yes. _Babadook_. It’s not so much scary or violent as it creates the atmosphere of uneasiness”

“Did your friend suggest it?”

“We saw it together some time ago and I liked it. It broaches depression and it requires time and knowledge to fully understand but for them it will be fun I hope”

Will grimaces at the word ‘depression’ but tries to hide the sourness.

The first students show up and the party starts.

Will watches the kids dance and eat and generally have fun and he wonders. Did he ever behave like this? Did he go to school parties and danced? He can’t really remember.

Will looks at Hannibal having polite conversations with their colleagues and he frowns. He himself also talks to his friends at work but it never feels quite like it looks with Hannibal.

Will takes a small sandwich from the table and eats it. Suddenly, Hannibal approaches him and Will almost chokes.

“I think they’re having a good time, don’t you?”

“Sure, um. Yeah”

Will tries not to get his new clothes dirty and makes a confident pose. He promised himself he’d be acting.

“The other teachers say we can play a movie in a few minutes and then begin the games”

“Yeah, fine”

“I talked with Alana. She said she and the rest will sit on the sides and the front and we can sit at the back. Is that okay with you?”

He and Lecter siting in the back of the gym with no lights, just a scary movie. A movie about depression. He’s going to make a fool of himself, isn’t he? He’ll either show how easy it is to scare him or he’ll start crying. This is no good.

“Sure” Will answers with a smile.

Lecter works the projector and starts the movie. The students sit on mats and mattresses with food and drinks in hands. There are groups and couples. Some of them hug, some other laugh. It begins.

Lecter goes to sit next to Will and Will gets nervous. More than before. He eats some chips and looks at Lecter.

The movie is not so scary, indeed. There are a few moments when Will almost jumps but overall he enjoys it. The kids are rather disappointed because they expected blood and gore and screams but the music starts and they start playing the games and the movie is easily forgotten.

Will watches the kids and he and Lecter start preparing the gym for when the students will be tired and will want to go to sleep.

“Did you like the film?” Lecter asks.

“Yeah. Yes, it was nice. I was worried there would be more blood or… I don’t know. They make plenty of shitty horrors now with just cheap jump scares and I-”

“And you don’t appreciate them”

“Not one bit”

“Good. I have to tell you it’s my friend who introduced me to finer films and I’m grateful for that”

Will smiles.

“I don’t like cheap jump scares, either. I’d rather see a slow build and finally breaking the tension. The same with romances. And thrillers and detective stories. It’s nice when they don’t better you with clues” Lecter confesses.

Will nods and sees one of his students behind Lecter.

“Yes, Julie?”

“Mr Graham, but did the woman finally got over the monster or did she accept it?”

Lecter chuckles and waits for Will’s interpretation of the movie.

“She accepted this part of her and let it live as it was. You know, sweeping the problems under the rug is not helpful at all. The pile will grow and it will be even more difficult to deal with them. Better to accept what is wrong or painful when it’s still relatively a small challenge”

The girl goes back to her friends and Lecter seems proud of Will.

“Beautifully put, again”

“Do you agree with what I said?”

“Completely”

They continue preparing the gym for sleeping later and Hannibal speaks again.

“Depression is a very serious illness. You know, one of my relatives suffered from it. He was smiling on the surface and no one knew what was inside his head. Until he had an accident. He died under a train and then the family gathered and we found his drawings. Most of them were presenting a scene of suicide, some of murder”

“Is that why you’re interested in detective stories and thrillers?”

“No, I always enjoyed them. But that being a part of my family, it’s eerie”

“There’s nothing eerie about depression” Will says, calm but Lecter hears a note of defensiveness.

“No, there’s not” Lecter nods.

They don’t talk again until the students are all asleep. Even the teachers allow themselves a moment of sleep.

Will and Lecter stays awake and Will feels uneasy.

“I believe they had a nice night. I never attended such events, we didn’t have them at school, but I enjoyed watching them having fun” Lecter says quietly, not to disturb the sleeping students.

“Yeah. Normally it’s just dancing and I keep standing in a corner listening to music. Tonight was different. A good different”

“I’m glad you liked it, too”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand that's it from me ;)  
> the next chapter will be posted after 13th ;)  
> and i have something fun prepared ^^


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm uploading from Turkey ^^ have a nice day

Will gulps his wine and stares. He looks at his family and wants to disappear. He wants to be somewhere else.

“Will you help me bring in the cake, Will?” a wife of one of his cousins asks.

“Sure”

Will stands up and goes to the kitchen with the woman. She cuts the cake and places it on a plate. Will leans against the wall and sighs. He moves his head back and closes his eyes. He imagines being kissed on the neck. Just there, now.

He imagines a person standing next to him, touching him on his sides and chest and kissing desperately.

“Will?” the woman asks, seemingly concerned.

“Yes?”

“Are you okay? You’re flushed. Are you ill?”

“No, no. I just… It’s hot in here, isn’t it?”

“Maybe. I didn’t notice”

Will takes the plate with the cake and bring it into the dining room.

“We’re thinking about going to the theme park again. But we’re going to  bring kids this time. Will, what do you say? Do you want to spend some fun time with your niece and nephew?”

“Um, when are you going?”

“Next Saturday”

Nice. The meeting today, theme park next week and another torture festival a week later. Is he going to survive this? But declining seeing his niece and nephew would be rude.

“Yeah. I think I could go”

“Great. Maybe you could take one of your lady teacher friends” Will’s cousin winks.

Will they ever give up? Will they ever accept Will’s way of living. No chance.

“I’ll see about that” Will says with a smile.

*******

Next day Will sits by his desk and waits for the students to finish writing the test. He holds his head in his hands, supported on the desk. He must look tragic. Like a person dealing with a major problem.

His head is filled with many scenarios and he wonders if he should do what he’s been thinking for the last couple of hours. Is he that desperate? Is there even a reason he should do this?

The bell rings and the students leave their papers on Will’s desk. He tucks them under his arm and goes to the teacher’s room. He makes himself a coffee and sits by the huge desk. He should go home, that was his last lesson, but he’d rather stay here for a moment longer.

Here, he enjoys the different voices and the warmth of the place. It’s been getting chilly ever since Halloween. Will can finally hide under his favourite sweaters.

The other teachers leave the room and go for their last lessons and Will is finally alone. He’ll stay here for half an hour maybe and then leave as well.

“Will? I thought you just had your last lesson”

Lecter. Should Will go through with his plan?

“Yeah, I just… Yeah, I’m leaving”

Will packs the papers in his bag and leaves the room and then the building. He goes home.

Familiar voices from the windows, familiar accusations and arguments that never end. They reach a pause but break out again, often in the most unexpected moments.

Will buys himself a bottle of whiskey and goes home. He writes a new entry in his diary and starts reading _The Painted Veil_. He’s so stupid. He had a perfect chance to ask Lecter if he wanted to go to the theme park with him and he blew it. He’s a coward.

No. Will is just not worthy. He’s pathetic and not at all worthy.

He goes to take a shower and there are a few tears leaving his eyes joining the water.

Later, he pours himself a glass of whiskey and continues reading the book.

Is there even a chance for redemption for him?

*******

During the first pause Will goes to the classroom where Lecter had his lesson. The man sits by his desk and flicks through a book.

“Will! Hello”

“Um. Hi”

“Please, come on in”

Will closes the door and steps closer to Lecter.

“I, uh… I was wondering if you… Do you have any plans for Saturday?”

“No” Hannibal states confidently.

Okay. No.

“Um, you see my cousin invited me to a theme park. He’s going with his wife and kids and… he wants me to go with them. And he said I could bring someone. And I… I don’t have many friends…”

“Are you inviting me?” Hannibal smiles.

“Well, yes. This was my messed up way of inviting you, yeah”

“I’d be glad to go with you”

“Cool. I mean. Maybe you should give me your phone number. So that I could text you more details”

“Certainly”

Hannibal take out a piece of paper and writes down his number. Will takes it and smiles.

“So I… I’ll call you when I know what time we’re going and… should I pick you up?”

“I’ll let you discuss the details with your cousin and then we’ll decide what’s the best option”

“Sure. Yeah. So I… I see you around”

“Certainly”

*******

The details are discussed and Will calls Hannibal to tell him they’re leaving at ten. Will is going to pick up Hannibal and follow his cousin’s car.

Everything goes smoothly. Will introduces Hannibal to his cousin and his wife. They greet the children.

Everything goes smoothly until they’re supposed to pay for the entrance. Hannibal takes out his wallet and Will bites the inside of his cheek.

“Um, wait. I should probably pay since I invited you”

Hannibal doesn’t argue. He smiles and takes the ticket Will hands him.

Will feels his cousin’s eyes on him but he couldn’t care less. He returns Hannibal’s smile and they move forward. There are plenty of carousels and slides and swings.

Will takes his niece and nephew and go to the first carousel. They sit in a big booth styled as a teacup and Will sees there’s still plenty of room. He waves at Hannibal.

Will’s cousin and his wife sit on horses placed next to each other and the carousel starts. The horses move up and down and the teacup booth spins. Will laughs and is aware that Hannibal watches him.

They go to the slides and the children go with their parents while Will looks at Hannibal and is ready to take the risk. The day is sunny and hot and Will feels happy.

“See this rollercoaster there?” Will points at the huge construction not far from there, Hannibal nods “Do you want to go while they try every slide?”

“Sure”

Will waves at his cousin and tries to mime he’s going at the rollercoaster.

He and Hannibal sit on the plastic chairs and they fasten the seatbelts. A person who manages the machine makes a round and checks if everyone has the belt as tight as it can get. Will gets the protection pressed so tight to his chest he can barely breathe.

The machine starts and the rollercoaster goes forward. Will and Hannibal are seated in the third row but it’s still scary.

They go up slowly, it takes a few seconds and they hear the chains making a very particular noise. They are finally up and the rollercoaster slides down, accelerates and reaches a dangerous speed. They move down, there is smoke there, in a pit, they move up and on one side. Will feels dizzy already but he laughs. They hear people scream at the front and someone yells _help_ in the back.

The roller coaster moves to the other side and Will actually gets scared. He can’t breathe, the seatbelt is too tight and he gets frightened. He tries to calm down, to focus on controlling his breathing.

He moves his hand to search for Hannibal. He grabs the man’s hand and soon it’s over. They’re back at the start and the seatbelts unfasten automatically.

Will takes a deep breath.

“You okay?” Hannibal asks, he’s genuinely concerned.

“Yeah, I just… I couldn’t breathe for a moment. The belt was too tight”

“Well, it needs to be. Otherwise you’d fall”

Hannibal touches Will’s shoulder and then they go back to the slides. There is no sign of the children or Will’s cousin but he hears someone scream his name.

“Will!”

Will and Hannibal turn and see the people sit under a huge umbrella, eating ice cream. They sit next to them.

“How was the rollercoaster?” the cousin asks.

“Fine” Will answers and Hannibal smiles.

“Is he lying? Did he scream?” the cousin asks Hannibal, seeing his smile.

“No. He was brave” it sounds like Will is a child and Will rolls his eyes so Hannibal adds “I screamed”

Will wants to frown but he appreciates the gesture, however fucked up it is, and smiles mischievously.

“Do you want ice cream?” Will asks Lecter and Hannibal nods.

They all eat the ice cream and decide where to go next.

“It’s so hot. Let’s go to there” Amanda, Will’s cousin’s wife, points at the small boats that makes a route around the park.

The boats can take up to four people so Will’s cousin, Adam, and his wife and children go to one boat and Will with Hannibal go to the next.

“Don’t jump into the water or try to swim in the other direction” a guard warns them and the boat moves forward.

“I’m having great fun. Thank you for inviting me” Hannibal says.

“Yeah. I’m having fun, too”

“Your family is lovely. The girl, Susie, is it?” Will nods “She’s so sweet. How old is she?”

“Six. And Brian is eight”

“Very sweet kids”

“Why did you lie? About the roller coaster” Will just can’t help but ask.

“I wanted to end the topic and not make you feel…”

“Weak?”

“Something like that”

“It wasn’t necessary. I don’t need a knight”

Hannibal chuckles.

“Forgive me, then”

They swim further until they reach a tunnel and everything becomes dark. Then, somewhere in the distance there are lights on both sides of the tunnel. How romantic, Will thinks and grimaces.

“I saw a photo booth near the slides. Would you like to take a few pictures with me?” Hannibal asks.

“Um, sure. Yeah”

They leave the tunnel and Will feels a splash of water on his shirt. Suzie and Brian were already on the shore and they surprised Will.

“Oh, you” Will gets out of the boat, completely wet on the front.

“It’s sunny, you’ll dry immediately” Amanda observes.

“It’s okay. I know. But I will have my revenge” Will says to the kids, narrowing his eyes.

Hannibal chuckles and they move forward. There are carts that you can drive and they have rubber around them to make collisions as painless as possible. The point is to collide with others, of course.

“It’s too dangerous for kids. We’ll take them to another carousel. You go, have fun” Amanda says and takes the kids and Adam.

Will and Hannibal stands in a queue and wait. They both chose a cart and the bell rings, indicating the beginning of a round. Will moves forward and collides with Hannibal. They laugh and then Will withdraws his cart. He gets hit by someone else. He already feels he’ll get bruised after this.

Then Hannibal crushed into Will’s cart.

“Ow, you… ow”

Hannibal laughs and Will swears revenge on him, too.

The round is over and Will gets out of the cart, hurting everywhere.

“You’ll pay for any medical care I’ll be needing” Will says and sticks out his tongue at Lecter.

“Come on, Will. Don’t be such a… Relax”

Hannibal says playfully and snakes an arm around Will’s shoulder. Will frowns at him but let that happen. They go through the park like a couple of good buddies or, one could say, a proper couple.

They day passes quickly when you have good fun and they need to leave the park soon. Will and Hannibal say goodbye to Adam and Amanda and the kids and they leave in their own direction.

Will drives Hannibal back home.

“I had really nice time today. I hope I can take you somewhere next time”

“Sure. I mean… But do you do something on Thanksgiving?”

“I don’t have any plans, yet, no. I’ll probably cook something. You could come if you like”

“No, I meant… I’ll let you know”

“Good”

Hannibal doesn’t hesitate as Will would have liked him to. He simply gets out of the car and disappears.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still in Turkey ^^

Here it is, November 12th. Will sits in his usual chair and thinks about the book he’s been reading lately. _The Painted Veil_. The second of the two Hannibal recommended. Will licks his spoon and sets it aside.

“… and the slides! They loved the slides”

Will hears Amanda’s voice but he is somewhere else. He’s in the tunnel at the theme park. He’s at the rollercoaster.

“… a friend. Hannibal, right, Will? That was his name?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Your friend. The one you brought to the park. Geez, were you even listening?”

“Sorry, I just….drifted off”

“Work?” one of Will’s relatives asks.

“Yeah. You know, grading and stuff”

Will avoids telling anything specific. That’s just his trait. He’s learnt doing that with his family. They don’t care, he doesn’t care that they don’t care. It’s simpler that way. Grading and stuff. That’s what he does. That’s all what they need to know.

“And who’s this… Hannibal?” grandma asks.

“A friend from work. He’s temporary working in place of our biology teacher. She went on a maternity leave”

“And you’re already calling him a friend? We never heard of any of your colleagues from work”

“Well, just because I don’t talk about them doesn’t mean I don’t have any friends”

Another thing is that Will, indeed, doesn’t have any other friends.

“I was wondering if I could bring him to our Thanksgiving?”

“What?” this is everyone’s question uttered almost in unison.

“Well…he doesn’t have any plans and it’s a holid-”

“It’s a family holiday, Will. You can bring your _friend_ to theme parks and wherever you want but not to our family meeting” grandma says.

Will takes a deep breath. Here it is again. He feels humiliated, underappreciated. He feels like shit. And it’s his family that gives him that treatment. He’s done. He knows what he’ll do.

Will smiles politely, nods and stuffs his mouth with a piece of cake.

Later, in the evening he calls Hannibal.

“Hello?”

“Hi. Am I interrupting something?”

“Not at all. I was just reading”

“Something interesting?”

“Not really” Hannibal chuckles “An academic piece”

“Oh”

“How are you doing, Will?”

“I… Do you still have no plans for Thanksgiving?”

“I’m still going to cook something and maybe invite a friend or two”

“The one from the cinema?”

“No. I believe he’ll spend the day with his wife”

“Oh. I thought… Never mind”

“What did you think, Will?”

“I don’t know… that maybe he was you ex or something. Sorry”

“It’s all right. No, we were never together. He prefers women”

‘And you?’ Will almost asks but hesitates. Should he be so forward? Wouldn’t it be rude?

“I’ve always known that so I never made any advances toward him” Lecter adds.

That kind of answers Will’s unasked question.

“Do you want to be one of the friends I’m going to invite?” Hannibal asks.

Will takes a deep breath.

“Yeah. Yes”

“Then I expect you to come on Thanksgiving afternoon, say, at four?”

“Sounds great”

“I’ll see you at school, Will”

*******

Two days before Thanksgiving Will calls his grandma and says he’s caught a cold. He pretends to have sore throat and he says he doesn’t want to infect anyone else so he simply won’t come to the Thanksgiving. His grandma is neither sad nor happy about the news. She wishes him to get well soon and says she’s expecting him at the next family gathering next month. Sure.

On the day of Thanksgiving Will gets a text from Lecter that he should come at four.

Will opens his wardrobe and sighs. He’s prepared. He took a shower, he shaved and combed his hair. He put on a new pair of underwear. He puts on his new white shirt and dark navy blue jeans. He tucks the shirt inside, checks if all the buttons are in place and takes a deep breath. He bought a bottle of red wine and a piece of pie so that he doesn’t come empty handed.

Will drives to Lecter’s apartment and wonders if that was a good idea. He practically invited himself to this and…

“Will!”

Will hears his name yelled from above and looks up. Lecter is looking at him through the window.

“Do come in, the door should be open”

Will steps closer to the main entrance to the building and the door is in fact open. He ascends the stairs and Hannibal greets him in the door to his apartment. Will hands the man the bottle and a package (the pie) and steps inside.

Apartment? More like hidden mansion, disguised as a regular flat. The place is huge.

Will sees the living room, painted white with grey elements, and some red. There is a large sofa, on which Will spots Hannibal’s friend, the lover of the cinema, and a woman.

“Will, you already know Frederick” Hannibal says and the men shake their hands “And this lovely lady is his wife, Clarice. They agreed to come after all”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you” Will says and kisses Clarice’s hand.

They all have their first drink.

“And how is school for you, Will?” Frederick asks.

“It’s good. I always enjoyed linguistic matters and I ended up trying to explain them to the next generations”

“When Hannibal took up work at school I thought he did it as more of a hobby. You know, we worked at a lab a few years ago”

“I told him that” Lecter cuts in.

“I’m not judging you for not looking for a better offer and I’m glad if you like your current job” Frederick says.

“I do. Now, shall we eat?”

Hannibal takes the turkey from the oven and places it on the table. He cuts it into smaller pieces and serves everyone a piece. He opens the bottle Will brought and pours them another drink.

“It’s delicious” Clarice comments.

“Thank you”

“I have to say, your apartment is amazing” Will says.

“Hannibal can afford it even on the teacher’s salary” Frederick jokes.

Will wants to ask, he’s tempted to, but it would be rude and he’s not going to push.

“What Frederick means is that my family is wealthy. But I bought the apartment from my savings. We earned quite a lot at the lab”

“And isn’t it a bit difficult to pay the rent now that you work at school?” Will can’t help himself.

“I manage” Hannibal smiles.

They talk about the most recent events and eat the turkey. Frederick passes Hannibal information from his job and Lecter seems astonished. Will keeps the conversation with Clarice. She is polite and relaxed, maybe a bit nosy but Will doesn’t mind.

Will hears Hannibal’s conversation with Frederick to move to the topic of cinema and he tries to keep track of that. There are titles that Frederick enumerates and quite quick reviews of some of the worst movies now airing. Will feels the need to tell about the Halloween party and that he enjoyed the movie Hannibal picked.

“ _Babadook_? Yes, we really liked it. I tried to talk Clarice into watching it but she doesn’t like scary movies” Frederick says.

“But it’s not scary” Will cuts in, looking at the woman “I mean, if you watch it like a horror movie than it’s not scary. What’s scary in this film is the concept of depression. If you don’t bother analysing too much, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it”

Will looks at Frederick who is frowning and is apparently impressed.

“The kids are lucky to have you as their English teacher. I wanted to tell Clarice exactly what you just said but I couldn’t find the proper words” Frederick says.

Will smiles shyly but sees the proud look on Hannibal’s face.

“I heard Will explain the movie to a girl at school and believe me it was just as accurate” Lecter comments.

“Well I guess I have to be able to analyse pieces of art, that’s a part of my job”

They finish dinner and Lecter serves them dessert. Then they move to the living room, on the sofa and have another drink.

“Don’t get me wrong but why are you here today? I mean, it’s a national holiday and people tend to spend it with families and friends, of course. So I guess what I’m asking is why Hannibal?” Frederick asks.

Will takes a sip of wine and wonders. Should he tell the truth? That he hates his family and that he wanted to invite Hannibal to his family gathering but they wouldn’t even hear about it? Should he lie?

Before Will can answer, Lecter speaks.

“I believe Will is my friend and I am his so it’s not as strange as you may perceive it to be”

Rescued again. By the knight he said he didn’t need.

Frederick and Clarice leave the apartment at eight and Will stays a bit longer.

“Should I help you with the dishes?”

“If you want to”

Hannibal washes the plates and glasses and Will dries them.

“I noticed you have this tendency to… rescue me? I mean you lied to my cousin and today you answered the question posed to me”

“Forgive me, Will. I only meant to spare you uncomfortable details”

“Why do you assume there would be ones?”

Hannibal turns to Will and wipes his hands on the cloth.

“On the first day we met, you said you have those family meetings. And you were uneasy, sad, brought down. You said they make you feel like a failure. I believe you’d spend Thanksgiving with your family unless seeing them was too difficult for you”

That’s as accurate as it gets, Will thinks. But wait…

“You remember all that?”

“I pay attention, often to seemingly unimportant things”

Lecter pours them another drink and they settle on the sofa.

“What about your family? Why do you spend Thanksgiving with a friend and his wife and…me?”

“My family live in Europe. I have no relatives here, in the States”

“Oh. Sorry, I…”

“I visit them on Christmas and sometimes during vacations”

“Do you miss them?”

“Some of my relatives, yes. I miss my mother and father. And my aunt”

“I wanted to invite you, you know? To my family meeting. But they…” Will groans “Anyway…”

“Would you like to go with me?” Hannibal asks and Will frowns “Spend Christmas with my family? In Europe”

Isn’t it too much? Like, they know each other three months. Sure, Will never had anyone like Hannibal, to talk about movies and work and stuff.

“I… I’ll let you know. There’s still time”

“Of course”

Hannibal sets his glass on the coffee table and looks at the man beside him.

“Will, would you be interested in a date with me?”

Will’s eyes widen involuntarily. Is this happening? Did he fall asleep and it’s just a dream?

Will cannot find the proper words so he simply nods.

“Tomorrow is a day off. Would you like to go to the cinema? Then I could cook for you, or we could go to a restaurant if you prefer more neutral ground”

“I enjoy your cooking” Will blurts out and Hannibal smiles at the words of appreciation.

Will finishes his drink and leaves the apartment. He hugs Lecter and goes back home.


	6. Chapter 6

 Will wakes up at ten. He takes a shower, grades the latest tests and reads a book. He writes an entry in his diary and makes himself a light dinner.

At four he starts panicking. Hannibal asked him on a date. He didn’t say what time, nor has he called yet. And Will is not sure what would be best – if Lecter gave up or if they actually went with it.

Will feels pathetic. He hasn’t been on a date since college and it was also the last time he kissed someone. He’s still a virgin. And… oh god.

Will’s phone rings.

“Hello?” Will asks, terrified.

“Will, is everything all right?”

“Yeah, I was just… having a mild panic attack” Will chuckles.

“Concerning our meeting today?”

“No, I…well, yes. But…”

“I don’t want to force you to anything. If you don’t want to go…”

“I do. I want to go. It’s just been a while and, uh, I don’t feel…confident”

What a way to spoil a nice evening. They say you have to be confident on dates and Will straight away just said he’s a shy and self-aware piece of-

“I’ll come for you at seven. We’ll walk and the movie starts half past seven. Then we’ll see. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. Yes. See you at seven”

Will opens his wardrobe and stares at its contents. Should he go dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, casual and comfortable? Or should he comb his hair back and put on the best clothes he has?

He decides on something in between. He messes his hair and puts on light jeans. Then he puts on the green shirt and a dark blazer. Casual yet smart.

Will hopes Hannibal won’t dress like a diva.

At half past six Will puts down the book he’s been reading and starts panicking again. Did he brush his teeth? Better brush them again. Does he smell nice? He sprayed some deodorant on himself, it should be fine. Does he have any holes in his clothes? Nope, everything’s fine.

Quarter to seven. Will they even focus on the movie? Can he brush his hand against Lecter’s? Would they…?

Ding dong. Hannibal’s here.

“Hello, Will. You look gorgeous”

“Thanks. Uh, you look great as well”

Lecter smiles and they walk to the cinema. Hannibal is wearing dark trousers, contrast to Will, and a purple shirt with a brown jacket.

“So, what movie did you pick?” Will asks.

“A comedy. I thought you’d use a good laugh”

“Can’t argue with that”

Hannibal buys the tickets and they enter the room where the movie will be played. They take their seats and Hannibal turns to Will.

“Do you want something to eat or drink for the film?”

“Um… I saw they have ice coffee…”

“Caramel or mocha?”

“Caramel” Will states with a grin.

Hannibal goes to buy the coffee and Will checks his phone. He mutes it and waits. He watches a few couples take their seats and he smiles. He’s not alone this time. He came with someone. Someone who called this a date.

Oh god, but what if he resigned and he used coffee as an excuse to leave? What if Will is left all alone again? He blinks and sees Hannibal carry two plastic cups with ice coffee. Will releases the air from his lungs and shuts his eyes in relief.

“Here you are” Hannibal hands him one cup.

“Thank you”

The lights get dimmed and people stop talking. The movie is about to begin.

It’s a cheesy comedy but funny nonetheless. Will laughs openly and grins for most of the time. There is a moment when he looks at Hannibal and despite the darkness of the room, Lecter catches the movement and their eyes meet.

Will drinks the coffee and feels his hand go numb with the cold emanating from the cup. He wants to shift and places the cup in his right hand now, resting his left against the arm of the chair. But there, Hannibal’s hand already awaits and Lecter grabs Will’s cold hand. Will hears the man chuckle quietly and feels Hannibal squeeze gently and rub to make Will’s hand warmer.

The movie ends and people start to leave the room. Will and Hannibal throw away the cups and stand in front of the building.

“Are you willing to spend some more time with me today?” Hannibal asks with a smile.

“Will you cook something?”

“I baked a cherry pie and I have mulled wine. Unless you don’t want anything sweet, then I can-”

“No, it’s perfect”

They walk to Hannibal’s apartment and talk about the movie and about other movies they liked. Will tells Hannibal about the book he’s been reading and Lecter enumerates the detective stories that he’d take on a desert island. They make a game out of it and Will enjoys it.

“I’ll cut the pie and you can pour us the mulled wine”

They take everything to the living room where Hannibal turns on the light, it’s already dark and cold outside. They sit on the sofa and eat the pie.

“I like sweets. I don’t care for the meat and dinners and breakfasts. When I meet with my family I can’t wait to get the dessert” Will confesses and Hannibal smiles.

“Is this some form of compensation?”

“Don’t… I mean maybe, but I’d rather not think about it that way. I just like sweets, that’s all”

Hannibal nods.

“I don’t want to ruin the evening but I can’t help noticing your lack of self-confidence”

“Well my family have been making me feel like a failure my whole life and, I don’t know, maybe I started to believe it at one point”

Will gets nervous and anxious and he knows Hannibal noticed.

“Forgive me. I want you to feel as comfortable with me as you can”

Will nods and sips on the wine. No ‘you’re not a failure’, no pity, nothing. Just ‘be comfortable with me’. Will smiles.

“Does your family help you? I mean, you said you bought the apartment from your savings but you have to pay the rent and live, you know, eat. And Frederick said your family is wealthy?”

“Yes. My family has money. They’ve always had. But I don’t want to take anything from them. I can provide for myself”

“Do you have any pictures? Will you show me?”

Hannibal nods, smiles and stands up. He brings an album. An old thick brown album filled with photos. It starts with the date 1867. Will frowns.

There are people beautifully dressed, posing to the photograph. Will turns the page. He sees a few pictures, drawings of some people.

“My mother and father and sister. I drew them when I was young” Hannibal explains.

“How young? It looks pretty professional”

“I was twelve”

“Your sister is younger than you?”

“Yes. She was seven here”

“Where is she now?”

“She’s dead” Will immediately regrets his question “She died when I was eighteen”

“I’m so sorry” Will says and wants to look away, wants to close the album.

“It’s been a long time”

Will places his hand on Lecter’s shoulder and rubs small circles.

“I was very attached to my sister. When she died… I decided to leave the country and apply to university in France. I have an aunt there. She helped me a lot”

“You abandoned your parents?” Will is afraid he sounds accusatory.

“It was a difficult time. For all of us. We all threw accusations at one another and it was a good think I left. I couldn’t bear seeing her grave”

“How did she…?”

“Someone took her. Killed her. The police caught the man who did it and he ended up in prison. He was murdered a week after”

“Do you talk to your parents?”

“Yes. We call each other from time to time. I visit them on Christmas”

“And your aunt?”

“Yes. I visit her, too. I send her something every month. A small trinket or a card”

Will continues turning the pages and sees two words on one page that make him jump. _Count Lecter_.

“Is that your father?” Will asks, shocked.

“Yes”

“He’s a… he’s a count?”

“Yes. And I’ll be the next count Lecter”

Will’s mouth hangs open. A count? And he… He’s a biology teacher.

“That’s… impressive. What are you even doing here? I mean, in the States, working at school?”

“The title is something I use only in Europe, with my relatives. They believe nobility is the reason to be shamelessly proud, at least some of them do. There are people in my family that don’t give a shit about the title”

“Are you one of them?”

“I believe it’s also a responsibility. But here, no one knows and I, well, avoid this responsibility” Hannibal smiles.

Will chuckles. He finishes flicking through the album and puts it down on the coffee table. He sips on the mulled wine. It’s warm and heavy on his tongue. It has an extraordinary flavour. It makes Will dizzy.

“Did you enjoy the evening, Will?”

Will feels like he would say something stupid if he opened his mouth so he simply nods and smiles. The wine warms his throat and he feels something flip in his belly.

“It isn’t over yet” Hannibal says and Will hopes, wants to believe that it’s an invitation for a couple of minutes more, for another drink, for another piece of pie.

Lecter finishes his drink as well and looks at Will.

“If I pour you another one, I won’t let you leave. You’re already intoxicated”

Will grins. He knows he would be leaving already if he was sober. He hands Lecter his cup asking for a refill. Lecter complies with a smirk.

“Would you like to see my small collection?” Lecter asks.

“Books?”

Hannibal nods. He grabs Will’s hand and they go to Hannibal’s study. Will immediately spots a bookcase, filled with books and DVDs, all neatly presented on the shelves. Will steps closer and reads the titles. Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, a few names Will doesn’t recognise, Stephen King. There’s a copy of The Painted Veil and Atonement.

“So, what will you recommend me this time?” Will asks.

Hannibal narrows his eyes, looks through the titles and brushes his hand over the back of the books.

“This one” Lecter says, takes the book and hands it to Will “Not only do I recommend it, I will also lend it to you”

Will looks at the book. A collection of detective stories. Will doesn’t know the author.

They go back to the living room and sit on the sofa. It’s almost midnight. Will turns on the tv. He’s starting to feel like he’s at home. He changes the channels. A horror, news flash, porno. Amazing how around midnight televisions start marathons of dirty movies.

Will laughs and changes the channel at the horror. Hannibal turns off the light and Will chuckles. A creepy ghost of a child appears on the screen and Will screams. Hannibal quickly puts a palm over Will’s mouth and laughs. Will start laughing, too. They sip the wine. Hannibal relaxes on the sofa, he leans against the back of it, and Will supports his heavy head on Lecter’s shoulder.

Another jump scare and Will turns his head, his whole body shaking. He inhales Hannibal’s scent and puts a hand on the man’s chest to feel the muscles move when he breathes.

Will lifts his head and Hannibal leans in. They kiss, slowly, dry lips against another. Will hears a noise in the tv and bites Lecter’s lip out of fear.

“Ow”

Hannibal grabs the remote and turns off the tv. The room is perfectly dark. Will cannot see anything. He only feels Hannibal’s lips against his own again and he’s lost. He opens his mouth, lets Hannibal in. They kiss, slowly, lazily. Will tries to remember how to breathe.

A hand creeps up Will’s back and he shivers. Will moves his hands to Lecter’s waist, feels the soft fabric of the shirt and is tempted to unbutton it. He stops himself.

Hannibal offers Will an eskimo kiss and Will sneezes. Lecter laughs.

“Sorry” Will says.

Hannibal nuzzles Will’s neck and makes appreciative noises.

“I’ll go. I’ll call a taxi” Will whispers.

“I’ll walk you down”

Hannibal grabs his hand and takes the book he lends Will. Will calls a cab and they descend the stairs. The taxi arrives after a few minutes and Lecter kisses Will goodbye.


	7. Chapter 7

On the first day of work after their date Will is afraid. He fears it’ll be awkward or that everything nice he remembers about that evening didn’t happen or happened under the influence of alcohol and is therefore invalid.

It’s cold; Will puts on his favourite beige sweater and dark jeans.

He spent the weekend reliving the positive experiences from the night at Hannibal’s apartment. They didn’t call each other, let alone meet. This means something and Will knows exactly what.

Is Hannibal going to apologise or act like nothing happened?

Will comes to school and lets his life be. He wants to return to his usual lessons, beer at home and lonely evenings with occasional too long hot showers.

The students keep talking about their Thanksgiving dinners and Will tries to stay calm, to listen and, preferably, not care.

After the first lesson he stays by his desk and opens his bag. He’s got two books he can read – one he borrowed in the library and one from Hannibal. He’ll have to give it back. Great.

He was close to having one friend at last and…

Will hears the door open and close. Lecter approaches his desk with a warm smile.

“Good morning”

“Hi” Will says in the man’s direction but pretends not to be interested in conversation.

“Something wrong?”

“Nope. Business as usual”

Not exactly true but fair, Will supposes.

Hannibal takes a few mores steps and places a chocolate cupcake on Will’s desk. Will frowns.

“I hope you’re not mad at me for not calling. I admit, normally, I’d have called”

“Normally?”

Will wants to stop this humiliation but the question escapes his mouth.

“I wanted to give you some time. To think. If you’re interested”

Interested? Will thought it was obvious. Well, he’s afraid of commitment and has no idea how this would work but he’s willing to give it a shot.

“Are you?” Will narrows his eyes and looks at Hannibal.

Hannibal smiles, looks at the cupcake on the desk and then back at Will.

“Very much”

Oh. Is he lying? Does he feel guilty?

Will touches the cupcake and smells it. The sweetness of pies and chocolates and candies is all the sweetness he’s ever experienced.

“Do you want to buy me off with the cupcake?” Will smirks.

“I’d like to see you tonight for dinner again”

“And mulled wine?”

Lecter laughs.

“How about tea? And then we’ll see”

Will nods, shamelessly and irrationally hoping this will lead somewhere.

“But…” Will starts but what he is about to say is going too forward into the future so he bites his tongue.

“But?” Hannibal asks.

Will can either dismiss it or tell the truth. Tell that they should keep it quiet. Or… he can make up something. He goes with the last option.

“But… I mean I went to your Thanksgiving and after the cinema you gave me a piece of pie you baked. Maybe this time I should invite you over”

“I thought you liked my cooking” Hannibal says feigning to be offended.

“I do. So how about this then – you bring your cooking to my place? Seven sharp”

“Sharp” Hannibal smirks and Will knows what the man means.

He bit Lecter the other evening out of fear. Will closes his eyes and smiles.

“Enjoy the cupcake” Hannibal says and leaves the room.

*******

A quarter to seven Will checks out his flat again. He hesitated before texting Hannibal and only did so after a glass of whiskey. He tidied up the living room but still worries about the impression his apartment will make on Lecter.

Five minutes to seven Will is about to faint. Should he call and cancel?

He pours himself another whiskey but doesn’t drink it.

Two minutes to seven Will hears the door bell. He’s almost tempted to cross himself. He opens the door.

Hannibal smiles at Will. Will looks down at his watch and taps it two times.

“You’re too early” he observes.

“Am I? My watch tells seven”

Will lets Hannibal inside and examines the bags the man is holding. It’s easy to notice Lecter pretends not to be so much interested in the flat as he is in Will. Hannibal doesn’t look around notoriously; he follows Will straight to the kitchen.

“You can put the bags on the counter. Should I take out plates or bowls?”

“You can take out a pot and a pan. And a cutting board”

Will frowns slightly, then nods and prepares everything. Hannibal takes out a packet of rice and a bag with peppers – red, yellow and green.

“Something light” Lecter says with a smile.

Will boils water in the pot and then puts the packet of rice inside. Hannibal washes the peppers and puts them on the cutting board. Lecter smiles and tilts his head inviting Will to come closer. Will takes the knife and stands by the counter. Hannibal stands behind him. Lecter takes one of Will’s hands in his own, then the second and together they take the first pepper.

“Firstly, cut it in half” Hannibal says, close to Will’s ear.

Hannibal helps Will with the knife and the pepper falls on the cutting board in two halves.

“Then cut out the seeds”

Hannibal moves Will’s hand holding the knife and manoeuvres it to cut out the part with the white seeds. It’s not like Will doesn’t know how to deal with peppers and Hannibal is being patronizing. This is supposed to create an atmosphere of intimacy and domesticity – something that Will misses and craves.

“Now slice it” Hannibal lowers his voice still close to Will’s ear.

They cut all the peppers like this, then put them on the pan. Hannibal checks the rice and Will stirs the peppers. Hannibal prepares tea and then serves the rice. They sit by the table and start eating.

Will stares at Lecter and wonders. How is it that the man is alone? Or is he?

“Um…” Will hesitates; should he just ask?

“Something wrong? Not salty enough?”

“No, no. It’s perfect. I was just wondering…” Will checks Hannibal’s hands again for a sign of a ring “I’m not being only a distraction for you, am I? A third party, so to speak”

Hannibal frowns, not comprehending. Then he looks seriously at Will.

“You _are_ a distraction. You appear in my mind in the least convenient moments. But I enjoy that distraction”

“But you’re not-”

“Married? Engaged? Not single?”

Will nods.

“I’m not”

“I’m sorry. It’s difficult for me, you know? I haven’t kissed anyone since college and…” Will looks at Hannibal, who waits for him to speak his mind “I’ve never been in a relationship. I mean I discovered I was gay when I was a teenager and I was ashamed of that. My family didn’t make it easier. They expect me to marry, have kids and generally be… _normal_ ”

“Do they know their expectations will never meet the reality?”

“No. I mean, maybe. Maybe deep down they’re aware that I’m gay or they believe that I’m such a failure I will never find myself a wife”

Hannibal tilts his head.

“It’s sad to hear your family make you unhappy”

Will closes his eyes. This feels too much like a dream. He’s afraid Hannibal will disappear when he opens his eyes again. He’s afraid Hannibal is only here out of pity. This won’t work.

Will feels a hand touching his own. He opens his eyes.

“I haven’t been in a relationship for a while as well. I like you, Will. I want to make you happy”

Will feels his throat tighten. _Shit, shit, shit. Don’t cry in front of this man. Not now._ Someone cares about his happiness.

They finish the dinner and Will puts the dishes into the sink. They move to the living room.

“Want some whiskey? A beer?” Will offers.

“A beer would be fine”

Hannibal turns on the tv and Will brings them both a can of beer and two glasses.

“A football match” Hannibal observes “I mean soccer. In Europe we say football. Do you want to watch it? Do you like sports?”

“I can watch it”

Will sits next to Hannibal and drinks the beer. Lecter stretches his arm and puts it around Will’s shoulders. It makes Will tense up. Hannibal notices it and wants to withdraw his arm but Will turns to him and speaks.

“I’m sorry. I’m not used to other people’s touch”

“It’s all right. Don’t apologise” Hannibal says reassuringly “I don’t intend to push you. Tell me if I cross a line”

Will nods and lifts his feet to plant them on the sofa in front of him.

“Will you come again tomorrow?” Will asks.

“Do you want me to?”

Will nods. They don’t even have to talk. Will just feels less alone with Hannibal.

“I’ll bring you something sweet” Hannibal says and kisses Will’s forehead.

Will smiles. He feels spoiled. He wants to show this man to his family. Show that someone cares about him, someone rich, educated, nicely dressed, someone noble. But it’s not like Will wants to catch a big fish. He likes Hannibal. He likes his openness.

“I’d eat some strawberries. I have a bowl in the fridge. Do you want some?”

Hannibal nods.

“With whipped cream?”

Hannibal smiles wider and nods again.

The evening passes smoothly and quickly. Will snuggles to Hannibal and they watch the match to the very end, drinking beer and eating strawberries, then the crisps Will had left.

At ten, when the match ends, Will turns off the tv.

“Should I go?” Lecter asks.

“I, uh…”

Hannibal smiles.

“I’ll go. I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Wait” Will grasps Hannibal’s arm to stop him from leaving “Will you… kiss me goodbye?”

Hannibal’s lips curl in a warm smile and the man leans in; he simply brushes his lips against Will’s. Then he stops, pulls away just a little and offers Will a peck on the cheek. He kisses the corner of Will’s lips, then the other.

Will smiles and opens his mouth. He wants to invite Hannibal further. Lecter takes a hint and accepts the invitation. He moves his tongue inside Will’s mouth and meets Will’s own.

Will has a slight stubble and worries if that bothers Hannibal. He tries not to scratch Lecter while they kiss.

Hannibal breaks the contact after a moment and Will starts worrying again.

“I see you tomorrow, Will” Hannibal grins and leaves.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day Will wakes up with an erection. He reaches under the duvet and starts massaging his cock. He bites his lip and remembers the taste of Hannibal’s mouth.

His hand moves faster and he jerks off to the recollection of his colleague’s face and smile and…

He comes in his briefs and throws his head back.

It’s getting dangerous. He’s getting hopeful and attached.

*******

“Will!”

Will hears his name called out in the corridor. He knows the voice; it belongs to Hannibal. Will turns and waits for the man to approach him with a warm smile.

“How are you?”

“Fine” Will says avoiding eye contact; he feels ashamed after the morning incident.

“Do you still want me to come over tonight?”

Will hesitates. He looks around, checking if anyone is listening.

“Yes”

Lecter smiles and looks around, too. He grabs Will’s hand and leads them to the bathroom for the staff a meter away from where they’re standing. Hannibal checks if they’re alone and then looks back at Will. He strokes the man’s cheek.

“You’re sure you’re okay?”

Will nods. Hannibal gently kisses Will on the lips and Will shivers. He remembers the morning masturbation and imagines them both now having furtive sex in a bathroom stall at their work place, a high school no less.

Will breaks the kiss, afraid of getting too aroused by his thoughts.

“Bring us a piece of pie”

Hannibal nods and kisses Will’s cheek.

*******

Hannibal knocks at Will’s door at seven. The man gives Will a peck on the cheek and observes Will shy away and blush slightly.

Lecter places a bag on the table and takes out two plates from a cabinet. He acts confident as if he was in his own apartment. Will only watches Hannibal and tries to catch a glimpse of the bag’s contents.

“A cheesecake” Hannibal explains “And a bottle of white wine”

Will smiles and takes out two teaspoons and two glasses. Hannibal cuts the cake and puts the pieces on the plates, then takes the plates to the living room. They eat and drink the wine.

“You made this?” Will asks, his mouth full of the cheesecake.

Hannibal nods and smiles warmly, seeing Will’s enjoyment. Will almost moans, that’s how delicious he thinks the cake is. Will takes a sip of wine and sees Hannibal watch him. He wipes his mouth. Does he have something on his face? Lecter grabs Will’s hand and laughs.

“You are a very handsome man, Will. I enjoy looking at you. I hope that’s not a problem”

Will wants to pinch his own skin. Is this real?

“I’ll be booking tickets soon. To visit my family. I was wondering if you’d like to join me? Meet my relatives?” Hannibal asks.

“You’re leaving for Christmas, right?”

“Yes”

Will sighs. He _knows_ how Christmas with his family end. He wants to scream but sits silently and bears all the stories, bad jokes and general humiliation. He gets home, cries or lies down on the bed or on the floor, thinking how he’s just a shapeless sadness.

“I’d really love to but… I probably should spend Christmas with my family. I lied I was sick on Thanksgiving, can’t do this again. And if I said I was leaving to Europe… with you…”

“Do they know me?”

“My cousin and his wife said a thing or two about you. I don’t know, I wasn’t really listening. I tend to drift off”

“Well, if you change your mind, let me know”

“Would _your_ family be okay if you brought someone?”

“Someone – maybe. You – they’d be more than happy to meet you”

“Why? What did you tell them?”

“That I met a very charming intelligent and observant man. Someone who makes my work even more fascinating and every day worth welcoming”

“Oh. And then you’d bring _me_ ” Will laughs.

Hannibal takes the glass from Will’s hand and set it on the table. He cradles Will’s face with his hands.

“Come with me. Don’t do this to yourself, Will. Spend Christmas with me”

Will leans into the touch, he likes the warmth of Hannibal’s palms.

“I’ll be all right”

“Will you? Promise me you’ll eat a lot of sweets and call me whenever you want”

Will smiles. He’ll devour plenty of cakes and ice cream.

“You have a beautiful smile, Will” Hannibal says and kisses the corners of Will’s mouth.

Will catches Hannibal’s lips in a kiss. When he pulls away, he nuzzles the man’s neck. Lecter strokes Will’s hair.

“My head hurts” Will says with a groan.

“Do you want me to go?”

“No, no. Stay. I’ll take a pill” Will says and goes to the kitchen.

When he returns, Hannibal tells him to lie down on the sofa with his head supported on a pillow. Will does as he’s told and Hannibal sits next to Will’s chest. The man extends his hands and places the palms on Will’s temples. He starts circling, massaging Will’s skull. Will relaxes and after a moment feels a kiss pressed in place the warm hands were a second ago.

“Better?” Hannibal asks.

“Yes” Will breathes out.

He wants to sit up and kiss Lecter properly but Hannibal won’t let him. He leans in, instead and offers Will an eskimo kiss.

“Have some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Let’s go for a walk tomorrow”

“As you wish” Hannibal says and kisses Will’s hand.

*******

Next day Will finds on his desk a cupcake with a strawberry on top and a small piece of paper next to it. He’s being spoiled and he likes it. Someone appreciates him and wants to show him that.

They agree to meet at five by the main entrance to the park.

Hannibal kisses Will’s cheek and offers the man his arm to hold onto. Will pulls on his hair nervously and accepts the arm. They start walking. The fallen, not swept yet, brown and gray leaves murmur against their feet. The year is coming to an end and for the first time Will hopes the next one will be different. Maybe he’ll find some peace at last.

“Did you like the cupcake?”

Will nods.

“Did you make it?”

“Yes. I have a few more at home”

Will narrows his eyes.

“Was this an invitation?”

“I’m always happy to have you home” Hannibal smiles and kisses Will’s palm.

Will looks away and gasps slightly. He lets go of Hannibal’s arm and pretends to be coughing.

“Is everything all right?” Lecter asks, genuinely concerned.

“Um, yeah, yes. I just… it’s probably the beginning of a cold”

“Maybe we should go home already. Warm you up?”

“Yes. I’d like that” Will says looking into Hannibal’s eyes and Lecter offers a charming smile.

 

“Tea? Coffee? Wine?” Hannibal asks when they cross the threshold.

“Um…”

“I’ll make you green tea” Hannibal says with a wink and goes to the kitchen.

Will sits on the couch in the living room and hides his face in his face.

“Will?”

“Sorry, I just…”

Hannibal hands him the tea and takes a seat next to him.

“It was my aunt; in the park. I didn’t want… I’m sorry”

Lecter strokes Will’s hair.

“You didn’t want her to see us together”

“I’m sorry. I’m not…ashamed of you. I’d love to show you to them. I’m ashamed of myself”

“Because you don’t meet your family’s criteria to be a perfect grandson or cousin or nephew? Because you’re gay?”

Will nods. This is pointless. He doesn’t deserve Hannibal.

“I’m sorry. I’ve wasted your time” Will sets the cup on the table and Hannibal grabs his hand.

“Stay. I _want_ you to stay”

Lecter strokes Will’s cheek.

“I understand you haven’t told your family you’re gay. I don’t expect you to do so, if you don’t want to. It’s okay if you want to keep this quiet and private” he kisses Will’s palm “But I want to keep seeing you. I _really_ like you, Will. So will you stay?”

Will nods and this make Hannibal smile. Lecter kisses Will on the lips.

“Do you want something to eat?”

“You said you had a few of those cupcakes left”

Hannibal grins and leaves to the kitchen. He brings in a plate with two cupcakes and sits again next to Will. They turn on the tv and watch the news.

“I think I just figured out a nice plan for the winter break” Hannibal says.

Will raises an eyebrow questioningly.

“We’ll spend Christmas with our families and then you’ll fly to my family home for the New Year”

“That actually… Yeah, I love this plan”

“Would you be okay with flying alone?”

“I’ll be fine”

They finish the drink and the cupcakes and the news end on the tv. Hannibal turns off the set and turns to Will.

“You know, I keep forgetting you’re from Europe” Will admits.

Hannibal laughs at the confession.

“Can you say something in your native tongue?” Will asks.

The request makes Hannibal warm inside.

_“I like you a lot”_

“What does that mean?”

Hannibal doesn’t answer but simply kisses Will.

“Do you talk to your parents in your native language?”

“Yes. They know very little English”

“Oh. So I guess you’ll have to teach me. Otherwise it’ll be awkward”

Hannibal laughs.

“I can translate. But I’d love to teach you”

Lecter kisses Will’s cheek. He tells Will how to say ‘hello’ and a few other greetings; he writes down some words with their translations, for Will to learn. Will tries to read the words and when he mispronounces something, Hannibal laughs and gives him a peck. After some time the list is gone, left on the table and Hannibal’s tongue explores Will’s mouth.

Will feels himself harden in his briefs and he breaks the kiss. He’s flushed; he tries to control his breathing. Hannibal notices it and looks down. He sees the slight bulge in Will’s pants and smiles.

“Sorry. I got too excited” Will apologises.

“Don’t apologise for being turned on. I’m glad I have this effect on you”

Will looks away shyly but Hannibal puts a hand on his chin, preventing him from turning away.

“Would you like me to take care of you?” Lecter asks and Will frowns.

“You mean…”

“A hand job” Hannibal says calmly as if it was just another offer for coffee.

“Um… I… I, uh, never…”

“You never had a hand job” Hannibal prompts.

“Yup”

“Have you ever had sex?”

Will blushes further. He hopes his answer won’t discourage Hannibal.

“If you count jerking off”

“It is _some_ form of sex. But I meant an intercourse with another person”

“Then no”

Hannibal nods in acknowledgement.

“But you’re not averse?”

Will tenses and almost curls up into a ball of fear and shyness.

“Forgive me. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. And I didn’t mean ‘now’. I was only curious if you would ever consider-”

“I’m not asexual” Will cuts in.

Hannibal nods and strokes Will’s arms, then leans in to place a kiss on Will’s neck.

“I’m not ready for sex yet. But if your offer still stands…” Will says quietly.

Hannibal moves to kiss Will’s lips and his hands move down to Will’s belt.

“May I?”

Will nods and catches Hannibal’s lips in a kiss. He’s curious how this will feel like – someone else’s hand on his cock, someone else’s touch. Hannibal smiles into the kiss and slowly unbuckles Will’s belt. He pulls away to check if Will hasn’t changed his mind and unbuttons Will’s pants.

Will gets a bit nervous. It’s okay when he touches himself in the shower but now another person is going to feel his girth, his length, his pubic hair he never cared about.

Hannibal pulls Will’s pants down enough to reveal the briefs Will has underneath. Will’s upper limbs grabs all of Hannibal. He strokes the man’s arms and chest and cheeks. Lecter undoes the first button in Will’s shirt. Will feels a hand sneak around his confined member. He feels a gentle caress, a further invitation to play. Will groans and the noise is devoured by Hannibal’s mouth.

Will doesn’t know where the boldness comes from but he grabs Hannibal’s hand and pushes it inside his briefs. He needs it, he’s desperate for it.

Lecter kisses Will’s lower lip, then sucks on it, while his hand explores the most intimate part of Will’s body. He moves the palm to check for the length, he squeezes it to measure the girth. It makes Will moan. Then the hand starts stroking, rubbing slowly, torturously. Will bucks his hips but the hand keeps its pace. It’s amazing. A strange hand touching him, making him ecstatic, and a wet mouth placing kisses on his neck.

And then something bad happens, something completely wrong. Will feels his phone buzz in his pants. He groans and a wave of tension goes through his body. Hannibal looks at him, sees the annoyance and anxiety and takes the phone out of Will’s pocket.

“Aunt Gina?” Lecter says and keeps the phone in his hand.

“I’ll call her later” Will says after a moment of consideration and kisses Hannibal shyly.

Lecter puts the phone away and resumes stroking Will. It takes a moment for Will to relax again. The kissing progresses and the hand on Will’s penis is relentless. The man looks down at his cock and notices that Hannibal’s pants create a small tent.

“Um… Do you – ahhh – want me to…?”

Lecter grins and bites Will’s lower lip.

“I want you very much” he whispers.

The hand on Will’s cock keeps stroking, faster and faster as Hannibal kisses Will’s neck and collarbone. They both feel the tension rise and a sudden release as Will spurts hot white liquid on Hannibal’s hand. Will breathes heavily and closes his eyes. Lecter smiles warmly and kisses Will’s cheek.

“Was it good?” he asks quietly in Will’s ear and Will laughs breathlessly.

“Good? I think I just died a little”

Hannibal bares his teeth in a grin and nods courteously.

“Well, orgasm is a small death”

Will nods.

“Show me how you like it” Will says and unbuttons Hannibal’s pants.

Lecter smiles and lifts his hips to pull his pants down. Then Will pushes Hannibal’s underpants down and lets the man’s cock spring out freely. Will feels a rush of relief as Hannibal’s penis is not much bigger than his own. The head glistens with precum and Will spreads it on the whole length as he gets the first measure of Lecter’s member.

Hannibal grunts and places his hand on Will’s. He kisses Will and smiles. Lecter moves their hands together but then Will teases the cockhead with his thumb and Hannibal’s hand falters. He lets Will do whatever he wishes, however he wishes.

Hannibal is aware Will has already done it to himself but the way he knows how to treat Lecter’s cock is amazing.

“If this is your first time giving a hand job, I – ahhh – can’t imagine you doing it after months of practice” Hannibal says.

Will laughs at the praise and blushes slightly. His heart beats proudly. _After months of practice_? With Hannibal?

Will kisses Hannibal’s neck this time and bites the man’s throat while stroking his cock. It doesn’t last long. They both laugh and moan and then Hannibal comes on Will’s hand. He places his lips on Will’s cheek and kisses it sweetly in an act of giving thanks.

Will looks at his pants and the mess they both made. Lecter smiles and goes to the bathroom to fetch a damp towel. He takes care of Will and then himself. When he returns, after putting away the towel, he sits again next to Will. He kisses the man’s forehead and stretches his arm around his shoulders. Will snuggles closer and smiles sleepily.

“Do you want to stay for the night?” Hannibal asks after a moment.

Will considers the offer, then lifts his gaze at Lecter.

“Would you be offended if I’d rather went home?”

“Of course not. But if you ever feel lonely or, whatever, my bed has enough space for us both”

Will smiles and nods.


	9. Chapter 9

The rest of the week passes similarly. Either Will invites Hannibal or the other way around. They talk, eat, drink, kiss. Wil likes to cuddle Lecter and Hannibal likes to kiss the man’s forehead and stroke his soft hair.

On Friday, Hannibal is at Will’s and they eat tomato soup Will had prepared. He had finished classes earlier and told Hannibal to join him later at his apartment.

Hannibal bought a bottle of whiskey on his way and after dinner Will pours them a glass. They find a bar of chocolate and eat it in the living room.

“…and then the next day he approached me, said he regretted it, that he wasn’t gay and it was just a drunken incident. And that’s how my first kiss was stolen from me” Will concludes the story.

“I’m so sorry, Will” Hannibal says, trying to refrain from laughing but failing.

“It’ _not_ funny” Will starts laughing himself “Anyhow, I had my second first kiss a month later, with the same guy”

“What?” Hannibal almost chokes.

“Yeah. He turned out to be gay after all. He kissed me in a kitchen during one of our group studying. But then he found out about another guy who was into him and that was it for me”

“This story is fascinating”

“Yeah” Will makes a grimace and takes a sip of his whiskey “How about your first kiss?”

“It was actually with a girl” Hannibal smiles at the memory “I was fifteen and she was a year older. She liked me, said she… She said she wanted me to be her first. But nothing happened, we only kissed. I never touched her”

“She must have been disappointed”

“Oh, she was. She bragged to her friends she slept with twenty-year old students but she was actually a virgin. But I heard she has a family now. And I’m glad”

“Do you think it’s be stupid if I had a wife and a child?”

“To make your family content?”

“Well…maybe. I don’t know. I thought about it once. Not like it’d be easier to find a nice girl who’d want me than to find a decent guy”

Hannibal squints at Will.

“I mean-”

“I believe it’s better to be true to yourself. It’s your life, Will. And you don’t depend on your family”

Will sighs. True. He provides for himself. He lives on his own, has a job he more or less likes.

“I’m conflicted. You’d say I shouldn’t be but I am”

Hannibal waits for Will to keep talking.

“I mean… I like you. A lot. I… I want to be in a relationship with you. I want to tell you my secrets and listen to yours. I want to… be happy… with you”

“I want that, too. So what’s the problem?” Hannibal asks, smiling and stroking Will’s cheek.

“I want to brag to my family about you. I want to show them how handsome and intelligent you are. I want you to sweep them off their feet with your stories. But when I proposed some time ago I’d bring you, they… well, they declined”

“Give them more time. Maybe they still need to process that you won’t present them with a fair bride. But if they wait too long, you can just surprise them by bringing me one time without an earlier warning and their mouth will drop”

Will laughs. He tickles Hannibal’s sides and Lecter giggles. They stir on the couch and Hannibal overpowers Will; he lies on top of the younger man.

“Let me take you somewhere for the weekend” Lecter proposes and Will raises an eyebrow.

“Where?”

“Out of the city. To a nice bed and breakfast. We could go for a walk by the river or go for a bicycle trip or you could read Old English poetry to me”

Will laughs.

“Am I not scaring you off enough?”

“You certainly try” Hannibal says and gives Will a peck.

“How can I not be succeeding?”

“Because” Hannibal kisses Will’s cheek “I’m madly” a kiss on the lips “improperly” a kiss on the neck “in love” a kiss on the collarbone “with your eyes”

“My eyes?”

“Yes. And you make me suffer every time you shy away and avoid eye contact” Hannibal explains and Will laughs again.

“Do you enjoy this? Do you enjoy making me suffer?” Hannibal asks, feigning anger and moves his hand down, on Will’s crotch “ _I_ could never make you suffer”

“Take me” Will breathes out “I mean take me somewhere for the weekend”

Hannibal smiles.

“Will you read poetry to me?”

Will laughs out loud.

“I’ll bring the worst stuff” Will warns with a smirk.

Hannibal kisses Will and sits up.

“I’ll go, check for the near B&Bs, book a room. Double bed?”

Will nods and nuzzles Hannibal’s neck.

“I’ll come for you at noon”

Will smiles but then looks away.

“Um… Do you… count on sex?” he asks quietly.

“I don’t ‘count on sex’, Will. Ever. I don’t wear condoms on me all the time. And I understand if you want to wait”

Will smiles slightly.

“I just don’t want you to feel like I… like I use you and not give anything in return or something”

“Will” Hannibal takes Will’s hands in his own “Do you hear yourself? Would you sleep with me to keep me? Would you respect a person who would make you such an ultimatum?”

“I’m sorry, are you real or are you just another product of my imagination?”

Hannibal shakes his head. He kisses Will and stands up.

“Noon. Don’t take too much clothes” he winks and leaves.

*******

The next morning Will showers and shaves; he opens his wardrobe and starts thinking. Intensively. He probably shouldn’t be worrying so much be he can’t help it. He looks through his shirts and sweaters and trousers. It’s cold; it’s almost December.

He puts on a navy shirt and a beige sweater he likes so much – he feels comfortable in it and comfortable is good. Then he jumps into his dark jeans and begins looking for a bag he can take. Or maybe a rucksack? Or…?

He finds a dark green bag and believes it’s the best he has. He packs three pairs of briefs (just in case), two shirts and one pair of jeans. He takes his toothbrush and hopes there will be some shampoo in the room Hannibal booked.

He takes a deodorant, a packet of tissues and a book. A number of English poems, as Hannibal wished. Will knows which poems he’d like to read to the man and hopes he won’t embarrass himself.

Will doesn’t even eat breakfast; his stomach makes funny flip flops and couldn’t bear any contents right now. Will’s throat it tightened slightly so the food wouldn’t even make it to the stomach.

He waits. He checks himself again in the bathroom mirror, then checks his phone for any messages or missed calls. He hopes there are none. He’s right. So Hannibal didn’t cancel.

Lecter appears at Will’s doorstep exactly at noon. He gives Will a peck on the cheek and closes his eyes in delight.

“You smell amazing, Will. What did you do?”

“I showered” Will answers awkwardly.

Hannibal chuckles and takes the bag from Will. They go downstairs to Lecter’s car and Will remembers he hasn’t actually seen it yet.

It turns out to be a simple, not too fancy and not too big, silver Chevrolet. Hannibal puts Will’s bag in the trunk and opens the passenger’s door for Will. He takes the driver seat and they surge through the city.

“So, what are our plans for today?” Will asks.

“Hmm… Do you really want to spoil the surprise?”

“I, uh… But how far are we from our destination?”

“Just another fifteen minutes” Hannibal explains “Did you bring any poetry?” Lecter asks with a smirk.

“Maybe”

“Oh, now you want to surprise me? All right”

They drive for another fifteen minutes and Hannibal parks the car near the bay. Will looks through the window and can’t believe the view. It’s amazing. It’s almost December and the sun is fairly low over the horizon but it makes the landscape even more eerie.

“Let’s get out and see it up close” Hannibal proposes upon seeing Will’s astonishment.

They don’t take out their bags; they simply step closer to the rails separating them from the water. Will leans against the rails and squints.

“It’s beautiful”

Hannibal smiles. He stands behind Will and embraces him.

“You should see it when the sun sets. Now, the colour of the water resembles the one of your eyes. During sunset it resembles one of mine”

Will snorts and turns to look into Hannibal’s eyes.

“We’ll have to come by sunset, then. I need to confirm your theory”

“We will” Lecter moves and points at a small booth a few meters away “We’re taking two bicycles from there and go there” Hannibal shifts his hand to indicate at a place farther on the shore “We’ll have dinner and then we’ll return the bikes there at their other rent point. We’ll walk from there, here and you’ll see the sunset”

Will looks at Hannibal with awe and admiration.

“It’s perfect”

Lecter seems proud of his plan and kisses Will.

They do exactly as Hannibal instructed. He rents the bikes and they ride along the shore to a small restaurant a mile away. There, they return the bicycles and enter the restaurant. Lecter orders them both dinner; Will surrenders to the man’s choice.

“I thought you could fly to me on the 28th” Hannibal says during the first course.

“Uh-huh. It will give me some time to recover after the Christmas dinner with my family”

“Have you ever flown before?”

“No. I never even went outside the city”

“So maybe I should come for you?”

“I’ll be fine, I told you. I need to try new things”

Hannibal smiles and nods approvingly.

“I’ll be waiting for you and pick you up from the airport”

“Should I… bring your parents something?”

“I believe you should pack your suit”

Will’s face goes through a wave of fear.

“I know you’re from a noble family but-”

“It’s for the New Year’s Eve. There will be… a small party”

Will narrows his eyes.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll be there. They won’t eat you”

Will rolls his eyes. They finish the dinner and leaves the restaurant. Hannibal leads them the same way they rode before. They see the water’s colour change, just like Lecter said. Will holds Hannibal’s arm and looks at the bay.

When they reach the place Hannibal’s car is parked, Will looks again into Lecter’s eyes. He stares intensively and Hannibal laughs. Will shifts his gaze at the water and sighs.

“I guess the colour is similar. But the water lacks the depth… I mean” he chuckles; how the water can lack the depth? “I mean your eyes express your soul… I’m sorry, it’s such bullshit” he snorts.

“No, you’re right, Will. I know what you mean”

Will looks away and breathes in. He enjoys this time of the year.

“Shall we go?”

“Where? Or is it another surprise?”

“No. We’re going to the hotel now. I’m leaving the rest of the surprises for tomorrow”

They get into the car and after five minutes Hannibal stands by the reception desk with their bags. He says he made reservation the day before and a nice lady shows them the room. Double.

Will knows he agreed to this but now he’s getting nervous again. He has his daily routine, or even if he changes it, he values his privacy and now he’ll be in a room with another person, who will get to see that routine and his habits. Will bites his lip.

“Are you all right, Will?”

“Yeah, yes”

They put their things in the drawers and Will looks through the window. When did it get so dark outside? They have to turn on the lamps and Will feels awkward looking at Hannibal who’s sitting on the bed.

“Do you want to shower first?” Lecter asks.

Will looks around and considers his answer. Hannibal stands up and approaches the man.

“Are you not tired? Do you want to do something else tonight?”

“No, no, I… yeah, I’ll take a shower”

Will grabs his pyjamas and disappears in the bathroom. He puts the pyjamas on a cabinet and undresses. He’s in the bathroom, by himself, but he still hesitates before he pushes down his briefs. He steps out of them and at that moment there is knocking at the door. Will gasps and almost jumps.

“Yes?” he asks, placing his palms on his front to cover himself.

“Forgive me, I was just wondering if there is a soap there and shampoo because I forgot to check” Hannibal says through the door.

Will sighs with relief and looks under the shower. A bar of soap and a few small bottles of shampoo. There are also two brand new sponges and two large towels, apart from the small one hanging by the sink.

“There’s everything you need” Will answers.

“All right. I apologise if I startled you” Hannibal says and Will hears the man step aside from the door.

Will feels his heart beat faster as he steps into the shower. He runs the water, almost too hot and washes himself. He pays special attention to his armpits and his chest. The soap makes his skin slippery. He puts some shampoo on his wet hair and massages his skull. Then he looks down and wonders. Well, Hannibal had already felt his pubic hair and his cock; there’s no need to care about that anymore. He’s worried about something else.

Will steps out of the shower and dries himself with a towel. He puts on a pair of underwear and then the pyjamas. He brushes his teeth and checks himself out. Well, nothing more to be done. He takes his clothes and leaves the bathroom.

Hannibal is watching the tv lying on the bed. When he notices that Will joined him in the room, he looks at him and smiles. Will’s hair is still wet and he looks fresh. He smells fresh.

“Is it my turn now?” Lecter asks already tucking his pyjamas under his arm.

“All yours” Will points at the door to the bathroom.

When Hannibal vanishes behind the door, Will lies down in bed. He really is tired; he hasn’t felt it before. He changes a channel in the tv and closes his eyes. He can hear the water run in the bathroom and imagines how it flows over Hannibal’s body. This is wrong. It’s completely delicious and oh so very wrong.

Will feels his cock twitch under the duvet and he touches it gently. Then he shakes his head and lifts his hands over the duvet, not to let himself be tempted again. He keeps his eyes closed and doesn’t notice when Hannibal enters the room.

He only half-consciously feels the bed dip with someone’s weight and then a kiss being pressed to his forehead. Will murmurs but doesn’t open his eyes. He throws his hand in front of him and meets something huge and warm and soft. Will curls up to it and it’s too comfortable to shift now. He falls asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> romantic weekend part 2

Will wakes up and the first thing he notices is the light coming through the window. There is no sun, and the sky is cloudy. It’s probably raining. Will sighs and realises there is something warm pressing to his back. He turns his head slightly and now feels clearly – a hand on his front and a belly pushing on his back when Hannibal breathes in. Will smiles.

After a moment Will hears Hannibal grunt softly and feels the man’s lips on his neck. Will giggles.

“Good morning” Hannibal whispers into Will’s ear.

Will shifts on the bed to face Lecter.

“Good morning” Will says shyly.

Hannibal strokes Will’s cheek and smiles warmly. He looks at Will’s lips and moves his hand lower, under the duvet to rub Will’s arm and then his side.

“I’ve got to go and brush my teeth because I want to kiss you so badly” Hannibal says, attempting to leave the bed but Will grasps at his pyjamas to keep him in place.

Will leans in and brushes his lips against Hannibal’s. He puts his hand on Lecter’s nape and keeps kissing the man. They don’t open their mouth but just touch their lips together. Finally, Will offers Hannibal a peck on the cheek and smirks.

“Now, we can go brush our teeth”

Lecter smiles and stands up. They go to the bathroom and take their own toothbrush. Will looks in the mirror and feels weird – they look like an old couple, as if they have been doing this forever: waking up and brushing teeth together, talking over breakfast. Will would give a lot to make it true.

Later Will says he needs to pee and then changes into fresh clothes in the bathroom. Hannibal does so in the room. He looks though the window and frowns.

“What is it?” Will asks.

“Huh? Oh, nothing. I just… Just a memory went through my head. Are you ready to leave?”

Will grabs his bag and nods. They check out at the reception desk, Hannibal leaves a tip, and they get in the car. They drive along the shore and Will feels nostalgic. They get to a huge iron gate with a sign on it reading _Conservatory and Botanical Garden_. Will smiles.

Hannibal buys for the entrance and they enter a large greenhouse. They can hear the raindrops batter the glass. Will looks around, astonished with the amount of beauty and the variety of smells and colours. Hannibal offers his arm and begins leading Will through the place. He describes _this scarlet flower up there_ and _the blue leaves over there_ and tells Will to smell _this casually looking bush_.

Lecter doesn’t tell the names of the plants; they are all very well described on the small signs placed next to them. Will reads the names but some of them are in different languages and he doesn’t want to embarrass himself.

They walk around the garden and get to the small café in the middle of the complex. They have lunch and coffee. Hannibal buys them a bowl of jelly.

“What were you doing when you were working in the lab?”

“I’d rather not tell you” Hannibal smiles.

“A top secret project?” Will seems amused and excited.

“No, I just don’t want to bore you to death” Lecter says and steals a small piece of jelly from Will’s bowl.

“Well, I’m going to with my poetry”

“Ah-ha! So you prepared something” Hannibal smirks.

Will grins and stuffs his mouth with the jelly. When they’re done, they continue walking through the garden and Will sees Hannibal’s pride and happiness. They exit the greenhouse and run to the car because it’s raining even heavier than before.

Will places a hand on Hannibal’s knee and smiles.

“It was a very nice trip”

Hannibal leans in and kisses Will softly; he can taste the sweet jelly on Will’s tongue.

“Let’s go to your place” Will says shyly and Hannibal smiles “Unless you have other surprises?”

Lecter considers his options and starts the engine. He wants to spend the rest of the afternoon with Will in his apartment.

They get there quickly and order Chinese. Hannibal brings a movie on the dvd and presses play. Will takes the box and examines the cover.

“ _Wimbledon_?”

“It’s a romantic comedy. The weather is gloomy and I thought it would lighten up the mood” Hannibal explains.

They devour the food and watch the movie. Will supports his head on Hannibal’s shoulder and curls up to the man. Lecter’s sweater is soft and Will embraces the man to feel the fabric. Hannibal strokes Will’s hair and kisses his head.

Will blushes slightly during the kiss and the sex scenes and he coughs when he feels awkward; Hannibal noticed this tick some time ago.

In the middle of the movie Will says he needs to pee and they pause the film. Hannibal brings them cookies and tea and Will smiles when he returns from the bathroom. They sit in their previous position; Hannibal holds the cookies close so that it would be easy for Will to reach.

“You spoil me” Will says while taking another cookie.

“You don’t seem to be particularly unhappy about it” Hannibal smirks and tickles Will’s side.

Will smiles shyly and eats the cookie.

“What made you so interested in biology?”

Hannibal turns down the volume in the tv and looks at Will.

“We had a garden. Well, we _have_ a garden. My parents still take care of it. And they taught me every plant there and how to care about them. I liked working in the garden with my parents. And my aunt was interested in biology as well. I never really considered any other profession”

“But now you’re a teacher. It doesn’t require only a knowledge of biology”

Hannibal smiles and strokes Will’s cheek.

“No. It requires much more than that” Lecter kisses Will and then asks “Was there a particular book you liked that made you read a lot and discover that other worlds are simply better that the one we live in?”

Will blinks. _How does he know?_

“Did you read my diary?” Will narrows his eyes and Hannibal laughs.

“What was the title?”

“Of my first book?” Hannibal nods “ _The Little Prince_. I got it for my birthday. Then for every occasion I wanted to get a book. And so every birthday, Christmas, Easter and so on, I got a book. I devoured them. I examined the words, the sentences, every letter. It was amazing. It’s amazing how with those small signs you make someone laugh or cry. You can make someone die. You write _John died_ and it becomes an event of some sort”

Hannibal looks at Will with wide eyes and Will knows he should probably shut up.

“Sorry” Will stuffs his mouth with another cookie.

Hannibal shakes his head.

“Do you know that when you talk and get so excited you can keep an eye contact? And I love listening to you so stop apologizing and keep talking”

Will grins and swallows the cookie. He sighs contently. The clock on his left tells nine and Will wonders if he can ask the question he’s had in his mind for a while.

“Can I… stay for the night?”

Hannibal offers a warm smile and nods.

“You promised to read something to me”

Will snorts and stands up. He goes to his bag to fetch a book he brought while Hannibal turns off the tv. The ending was predictable anyway.

Will sits on the couch, with his legs crossed and looks at Hannibal. The man straightens his back and pays utter attention to Will.

Will opens the book on the page he has marked and clears his throat.

“ _Happy were he could finish forth his fate_  
_In some unhaunted desert, where, obscure_  
_From all society, from love and hate_  
_Of worldly folk; then might he sleep secure;_  
_Then wake again, and ever give God praise,_

 _Content with hip, with haws, and bramble-berry;_  
_In contemplation passing all his days,_  
_And change of holy thoughts to make him merry;_  
_Who, when he dies, his tomb might be a bush,_  
_Where harmless Robin dwells with gentle thrush._  
_—Happy were he!_ ”

When Will finishes reading the poem, he looks at Hannibal, slightly afraid, and sees a smile on the man’s face.

“More. Keep reading” Hannibal whispers.

Will turns a few pages and his voice continues to fill the space.

“ _Is it far fear to wet a widow's eye_  
_That thou consumest thyself in single life?_  
_Ah! if thou issueless shalt hap to die,_  
_The world will wail thee, like a makeless wife;_  
_The world will be thy widow, and still weep_  
_That thou no form of thee hast left behind,_  
_When every private widow well may keep_  
_By children's eyes her husband'sshape in mind._  
_Look, what an unthrift in the world doth spend_  
_Shifts but his place, for still the world enjoys it;_  
_But beauty's waste hath in the world an end,_  
_And kept unused, the user so destroys it._  
_No love toward others in that bosom sits_  
_That on himself such murderous shame commits_ ”

Lecter looks at Will with complete admiration and impatience. He takes the book from Will’s hand and moves closer to the younger man.

“Do you adore any poem so much that you know it by heart and you will never forget the words?” Hannibal asks quietly brushing his fingertips against Will’s hands.

Will sighs and looks in his mind for the one piece he can recite from memory, not hesitating even once.

“ _For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes,_  
_Brightly expressive as the twins of Leda,_  
_Shall find her own sweet name, that nestling lies_  
_Upon the page, enwrapped from every reader._  
_Search narrowly the lines!- they hold a treasure_  
_Divine- a talisman- an amulet_  
_That must be worn at heart. Search well the measure-_  
_The words- the syllables! Do not forget_  
_The trivialest point, or you may lose your labor_  
_And yet there is in this no Gordian knot_  
_Which one might not undo without a sabre,_  
_If one could merely comprehend the plot._  
_Enwritten upon the leaf where now are peering_  
_Eyes scintillating soul, there lie perdus_  
_Three eloquent words oft uttered in the hearing_  
_Of poets, by poets- as the name is a poet's, too,_  
_Its letters, although naturally lying_  
_Like the knight Pinto- Mendez Ferdinando-_  
_Still form a synonym for Truth- Cease trying!_  
_You will not read the riddle, though you do the best you can do_ ”

Hannibal smiles when he hears every word leave Will’s mouth.

“Edgar Allan Poe” Lecter states confidently and Will nods; his eyes glisten.

“Do you like him?”

“I read some of his works” Will nods in acknowledgement “I kind of see why _you_ would like him”

Will raises his eyebrows, the smile disappears from his face.

“I mean because you admire such creativity and honesty”

Will looks down at his hands covered by Hannibal’s palms and he closes his eyes.

“I’ll, uh… go and take a shower. May I?”

“Naturally”

Will stands up, grabs his bag and heads to the bathroom. There is a growing temptation inside him and he knows that if there was one more drink, he’d give in.

Will turns on his heal and rubs his left arm with the right hand. He looks at Hannibal and is aware that the man caught his movement and feels Will’s hesitation. Lecter stands up and moves towards Will.

“I’ll bring you a fresh towel”

Hannibal opens the door to the bathroom for Will and lets the man step inside first. Then he opens a cabinet and takes out a green towel. He shows Will a soap and everything he may need and he is about to leave, there is nothing more for him to do or say, but he doesn’t go. He watches Will swallow and consider something, struggling with his own mind.

“We could, uh…” Will steps closer to Hannibal “We could save some water. If…”

Hannibal’s smile widen and he closes the door to the bathroom, without turning away from Will.

Lecter places his palms on Will’s cheeks and kisses the man. Then he makes the first move. He pulls up his sweater and takes it off completely, throws it on a cabinet. He undoes the first button in his own shirt, then another. Will’s gaze lands on the emerging hair on Hannibal’s chest. He takes a deep breath and helps Hannibal with the cuffs while the other man lifts the hem of Will’s sweater. It lands somewhere near Hannibal’s piece of clothing.

Will remains in his undershirt while Hannibal’s upper body is removed of clothing completely. Lecter unbuckles his own belt and Will swallows at the thought of them both being naked in front of each other in a minute. He takes off his undershirt quickly to make his hands busy and then unzips his pants. He is conflicted between watching Hannibal strip and avoiding staring rudely.

Hannibal steps out of his trousers and remains in a pair of cotton blue boxers. He doesn’t look at Will but approaches the shower and turns on the water. He extends his hand and checks the temperature. It gives Will an opportunity to undress completely without Lecter’s eyes on him.

“It this all right?” Hannibal asks and turns away from the spray of water, waiting for Will to step inside the cabin.

Will moves, utterly self-aware, and steps into the shower. He feels the first drops of warm water caress his arms and chest and he turns to Hannibal, reaching for the man’s hand. Hannibal stands behind Will and takes a bar of soap. He places his foamy hands on Will’s back and starts massaging and rubbing.

Will takes care of his front. He washes his armpits and chest and lower, under his belly. Hannibal also moves his hands lower and rubs Will’s hip and the small of his back while gently kissing Will’s shoulders and shoulder blades.

Will feels his brain send messages to his body about the beginning of arousal and he shivers. He moves to face Hannibal.

“Your turn”

Lecter smiles and turns his back to Will for the man to scrub. Will laughs softly and takes in every detail of Hannibal’s back, every wrinkle, every mole. He traces a path with the sponge, careful not to rub too roughly and not to scratch with his fingernail. Will takes the opportunity to check out Hannibal’s ass and during his inattention Lecter turns, smirks and grabs Will’s hips. He kisses the man and manoeuvres them closer to the wall.

Will feels Hannibal’s cock touch his. They are not hard, not yet, and Will doesn’t want to have sex now, not in the shower. But he embraces Lecter and keeps kissing him. He turns off the water; they were supposed to save some after all.

Hannibal has Will pinned to the wall, naked, and he considers the best ways to take advantage of the situation. He kisses Will’s neck and collarbone and feels a hand search for his cock.

Will blindly looks for Hannibal’s half hard dick but then remembers the pleasure from Hannibal’s kisses on his shoulders so he turns; he leans against the wall, placing his palms on the cold tiles and hopes Hannibal will take a hint. Lecter does.

He smiles to himself and his lips start caressing Will’s neck and shoulders. Then his hands join the fun and moves along Will’s hips, his sides and arms, then down again to rest on Will’s chest. Hannibal brushes a finger against the younger man’s nipple, then bites gently Will’s shoulder.

Will breathes out heavily and grasps one of Hannibal’s hand. He moves it lower, to his hardening penis. Hannibal strokes it and moves even closer to Will, his chest pushing on the man’s back, and his cock brushing Will’s butt.

They stand in a warm embrace, their bodies hot, hovering over each other, and Hannibal leaves heated kisses on Will’s spine. He reaches with one hand to his own cock and squeezes; he pushes between Will’s thighs.

“Clench your legs”

Will turns his head and does as he’s told. He searches for Hannibal’s mouth and they kiss as Hannibal’s cock rubs against Will’s inner thighs while his hand continues stroking Will’s dick.

They move together, in unison, thrust for thrust, and they are loud. They moan and grunt and, occasionally, Will whimpers.

Finally, Will’s hips jerk forward and he comes on the tiles before him, staining ecru with white. The tension in his thighs breaks and he barely continues to stand; his legs feel weak.

Hannibal presses his hands to Will’s sides to hold him and the man turns to face Lecter; he leans his back against the wall. Will catches his breath and looks down at Hannibal’s cock still awaiting release.

Will grabs Hannibal’s nape and brings the man closer, locking their lips. Hannibal’s cock pushes on Will’s abdomen and Will reaches down to offer the longed-for climax. He strokes Hannibal while kissing him passionately and not a minute passes when Lecter groans and his body goes still and then shakes uncontrollably.

He embraces Will; now it’s him who needs to be held. Will is happy to be the one to hold him. He smiles and kisses Hannibal’s cheek.

They need to shower again, the water isn’t saved at all but they don’t care. Later they go to bed and cuddle. Will has come to learn he loves falling asleep in the man’s arms and waking up to the warmth of their bodies entangled together.


	11. Chapter 11

It becomes nothing extraordinary. They see each other, eat dinners, sleep at each other’s places, occasionally jerk each other off. It’s simple, it’s comfortable. It makes Will happy.

Hannibal doesn’t push him and Will appreciates that.

The last three weeks before the winter break pass smoothly and without any worries for Will. The students prepare for the break, they talk a lot and their minds are too busy making plans to learn. But Will knows how the last days before Christmas look like. Everyone’s somewhere else already and Will is elated that this year he too is otherwise preoccupied.

On the last day of school this year the teachers, as every year, gather in the teacher’s room and wish each other happy Christmas. Will was never fond of those meetings but he always attend. There was one thought in his brain forcing him to – a thought of him never coming back the next year, be it because he left the city or because…

“Will!” Hannibal smiles in his direction “You’re the last person I haven’t shared a wafer with”

They exchange polite wishes and hug gently, trying not to attract attention.

Around four Will again wishes everyone a safe break and happy Christmas and when the door closes behind him, he grins. He’s free.

The first day of snow was only a few days ago and the level of it is still pretty low but Will’s shoes leave traces on the ground.

Will comes home, changes into more comfortable clothes and takes a packet of dumplings from the freezer. He heats up the beetroot soup and prepares the dumplings.

They agreed that Hannibal would come to Will’s apartment that day and they’d share their last meal before Hannibal would leave to Europe for Christmas.

Will stirs the dumplings when he hears a knock at the door. Maybe he should give Lecter a spare key? It’d make things easier.

He opens the door for Hannibal and they go to the kitchen. Will pours them the soup and throws in a few dumplings and Hannibal presents a chocolate cake he brought. Will’s mouth starts watering and Hannibal quickly covers the cake.

“It’s a dessert. We’ll eat it after dinner” Lecter says seriously and Will pouts.

They sit down and eat the soup.

“I booked a plane ticket yesterday” Will says and Hannibal smiles.

“My parents say they can’t wait to meet you. When you come, it will be only them. The rest of the family leaves after Christmas”

“But you mentioned once a small party?”

“On New Year’s Eve, yes. My parents’ friends and a few of mine”

“Do you have friends there? I mean… isn’t it difficult to stay in touch?”

“It is. And those parties and meetings carry a note of a fairy tale, like it’s not real. You meet your friends from your youth, people who you barely speak to now. And you’re old and they’re old. It’s strange. But once a year I indulge in this feeling”

“Do you ever consider going back there? For good?”

“No” a simple answer “Life there is different and I… I like my life here. And now I have plenty more reasons to stay here” Hannibal says while reaching for Will’s hand on the table.

Will smiles and looks into Hannibal’s eyes. He knows what it does to Lecter; and he can fight his instinct to avoid eye contact for the pleasure of seeing Hannibal go mad with affection.

“I think it’s time for dessert, don’t you?” Hannibal asks.

Will grins and places the bowls in the sink while Hannibal cuts them both a piece of cake. They go to the living room where Will pours them a glass of whiskey. Lecter frowns upon entering the living room.

“No Christmas tree?”

“I have a small one in the bedroom. No one ever visits me so why bother?”

Hannibal puts the plates on the table and turns to Will.

“Can I see it?”

Will smiles warmly and takes Hannibal’s hand. He leads them to the bedroom and points at the small tree by the window. Lecter steps closer to it and can’t help but notice a small nicely wrapped box underneath it. He frowns.

“It’s for you. I’m not so pathetic as to give myself presents” Will explains.

Lecter takes the box and turns to Will.

“May I open it?”

“Well, that was the intention”

Hannibal smiles, approaches Will and gives him a peck on the cheek.

“You don’t know what’s inside yet” Will snorts.

“Sometimes it’s the gesture that matters more”

Hannibal unwraps the box and then opens it. He finds a glass ball with a flower inside.

“It’s preserved perfectly and I know it won’t grow but it should stay like this forever so I thought it’s nice” Will explains.

“It’s magnificent. It’s called Hepatica” Hannibal says with sparks in his eyes.

“Did you have it in your garden back home?”

“Yes. It’s a very rare species where I come from but we have them”

Will smiles, happy seeing Hannibal’s evident thankfulness. He didn’t intend to buy anything big but truthfully, he was afraid the flower was not enough and that it would make him look like an ungrateful egoist.

Hannibal embraces him tightly and offers a sweet kiss on the lips.

“I have something for you, too” Lecter whispers “But it’s waiting in my family home so if you want it, you have to keep your word and fly to me after Christmas”

“I’m not withdrawing now” Will says and they go to the living room to finally eat the cake.

Hannibal leaves earlier than he normally does because he has an early flight the next day. He kisses Will one last time and vanishes. Will is left alone for the next few days. He already misses Hannibal.

He tended to dread Christmas dinners with his family and this time won’t be much different but this time he’ll be daydreaming about a real man, older than him, always nicely dressed and smelling wonderfully. A man whose touch is real and though Will knows it well, he still craves it.

He texts Hannibal after midnight and wishes him a safe flight. He hopes to go to sleep but he can’t. He finds himself unable to relax because in a few hours the man he… cares about is going to fly very far away. Will tenses at the thought and at his dark suspicions that Hannibal will stay there, find someone else, someone better. Maybe he already has a boyfriend there? Or a girlfriend? Who knows? Oh god…

His phone buzzes and Hannibal writes him not to worry and to count down the minutes to their reunion in Europe. Will smiles involuntarily. He takes a deep breath, relaxes and falls asleep.

*******

Will doesn’t hear the children’s whining about the presents or his cousin’s unbearably boring stories from work or his grandma’s anecdotes from the bakery. He sits in his chair, swallowing a piece of cake, and looks through the window.

It’s dark, it’s snowing and Will is somewhere else. He can smell Hannibal’s scent, can feel the man’s hands on his shoulders and a loving kiss on his head. He hears a whisper of Hannibal’s shirt creasing on his body when he bends to caress Will’s ear.

Will closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He has to escape his daydreaming or he’ll fall in to deep and it might get awkward.

He feels his phone buzz in his pants and he smiles. Something to distract him, great.

The display screams Hannibal’s name and Will grins. He looks around, sees his family busy talking and eating, and he supposes no one will notice if he leaves the room for a few minutes.

He goes to the kitchen and answers the phone.

"Hannibal?" Will whispers.

"Hello, Will"

"I'm in the middle of the Christmas dinner!"

"I'm sorry I'm interrupting. I just... I couldn't sleep, then I dreamt about you and... woke up. I needed to hear your voice"

Will blushes slightly.

"You dreamt about me?"

"Yes. It's a rather recurring phenomenon"

"Oh"

"How is the dinner going?"

"All right, I guess. As usual. No one seems to be missing me at the moment"

"I miss you" Hannibal whispers.

Will sighs into the phone.

"I miss you, too. It’s good to hear your voice. But we'll see each other soon"

Hannibal can hear Will is smiling.

"My parents can't wait to meet you. They keep asking me about you"

"Really? Oh god, what if I make a bad impression? What if-"

"Will. Don't worry in advance. Everything will be fine"

"I hope you're right"

"So... is your family still not missing you?"

"I don't think so. Why?"

"I was hoping you might tell me something to make sleep come easier"

Will frowns. He guesses what Hannibal means.

"Like what?"

"I don't know..." Hannibal sighs "I wish I was there with you"

"Yeah, I wish for that, too"

"I'd hold your hand under the table to make it less awkward for you"

Will laughs.

"Or to make it more convenient for me" Lecter's voice gets a darker tone "I could stroke your knee, massage your thigh, squeeze-"

"Hannibal!" Will feels the blush creep up his neck and his cock stir slightly.

"I miss your lips" Lecter says with sorrow in his voice "The house is pretty big and my bed is huge. It almost screams for another person to lie in it"

Will chuckles.

"And it's cold. I could use another person to warm up" Hannibal continues.

"Use a teddy bear"

Now Hannibal laughs.

"I haven't slept with a teddy bear since I was eight"

Will imagines the scene.

"Was it big?"

"Like a half of my own body"

"Wow. Mine was very small, like my two palms, but I treated him like a real friend, you know? When I would leave the house, I would always make sure he was comfortable"

Hannibal smiles warmly on the other end of the line.

"I want to hug you so much right now"

Will chuckles.

"Four more days"

"What are you going to do?" Hannibal asks.

"Read, mostly. And think about you. Hope you still miss me and haven't found someone to fit in your bed"

"I can be patient when I want something. And I want _you_ to fit in my bed"

"Will?" his cousin's voice startles the man.

Will looks at his relative and shows the phone.

"Just a moment" he whispers.

"Um... I have to go..." Will tells Hannibal.

"Seems they miss you after all"

"It's probably not that. Maybe they need someone to cut the cake or to laugh at"

"Four more days, Will. I have to keep sleeping in this huge and empty bed until then"

"Till then" Will whispers and waits for Hannibal to hang up.

He returns to his family and takes his seat. A minute later everyone gets quiet and one of Will’s cousins stands up.

“As you know, I’ve been with Nicole for almost three years…”

 _Oh great_ , Will thinks, _I know where this is going. Hope no one asks me about my bride again. What if I told them I’m flying to Europe in a few days? What if I finally said I have a boyfriend?_

“…and after many, many conversations and arguments we decided that we cannot live without each other and that we’ll never find anyone better. And she forced me to propose”

The whole family laugh, though who knows if anyone finds the story funny. Will smiles politely and then everyone claps their hands and cheer.

Will gulps the wine he has left in his glass and sighs. He’d love Hannibal to be here with him now.

Everyone congratulates on the happy news and the dinner goes on. The ladies want to see the ring and the men start throwing inappropriate comments about marriage.

Will could vomit and then just leave, not wanting to spoil the evening. He stays. He stays till the very end. And he makes himself a promise he’ll bring Hannibal for the next family meeting. If they don’t split up. He hopes they don’t.

Later at night Will looks at the sky in his apartment and wonders if Hannibal is eating breakfast or if he works in his garden and if he’s all right. So far it has been mostly Will who had headaches and stomach aches and Hannibal seems to be always working properly. And he’s older than Will.

He’s wishful. He tries to imagine what present Hannibal has for him and he imagines their nights together far away from here. Then he remembers he’ll have to meet Lecter’s parents and they’re from a noble family so he should probably act respectful and mature. He hopes Hannibal’s family differs from his own. Please, let them be cool older people who want the best for their son and accept his new boyfriend.

*******

During the four days before the flight Will reads a lot and watches a lot. He tries to remember the most basic phrases in Hannibal’s native tongue and learns some necessary words.

He frowns when he thinks how he never googled Hannibal. His father is a count so there should be something about their family in the Internet.

Of course there is. Just not in English. Will passes the articles through a translation site and gets a gist of the family history. There are bits and pieces about Hannibal’s sister’s death and rumours about Hannibal’s death when he left the country afterwards. There is one article dropping a bomb about Hannibal’s incestuous relationship with his aunt in France and then another article, of the same author, called 'Trouble in Paradise' when Hannibal left to the United States.

Will grimaces at the made up bullshit but that somewhat shed light on why Hannibal wouldn’t want to go back to Europe.

With some of the articles come the photos of younger Hannibal, and though Will saw a few in the man’s album, he smiles upon seeing them. He imagines them together as teenagers, wild and both against the world, hiding on a tree or in an old building where no one ever comes. But then Will remembers Lecter’s smile, his sharp features, noble nose, maroon eyes glistening with pride or happiness. Will prefers the man’s hands now, slightly rough, aged but absolutely beautiful and warm.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the lovely [ flawlessstark](http://archiveofourown.org/users/flawlessstark/pseuds/flawlessstark)

Will lifts his luggage and heads to the airport’s exit. He told Hannibal when he would land and Lecter said he’d come to pick him up.

Snow is falling and the wind blows people’s hats off. Will puts on his beanie and looks around. A foreign country, a foreign language, lots of strangers and… Hannibal!

Will spots the man, who is rushing towards him, and smiles. Hannibal immediately embraces Will and kisses his cheek. He takes Will’s luggage and the men approach a car. A big luxurious black car.

“I’m sorry I’m a bit late” Hannibal apologises as he packs the luggage into the trunk and opens the door for Will.

“No, it’s okay. You’re on time”

“I wanted to be earlier and I left home over an hour ago but the snow and… I even got a ticket”

Will smiles.

“You shouldn’t be speeding in such weather conditions” he reprimands.

“Oh but I had a very good reason to break all the laws” Hannibal says and leans in to kiss Will again “I missed you, sweetheart”

Will frowns at the endearment. He got used to sweetness and gentle kisses and heated kisses and all kinds of touch but Hannibal never used any name for Will other than his own. He never even said ‘Willy’. And now _sweetheart_?

“I, uh, I missed you, too”

“Did you enjoy the flight?” Hannibal asks as he starts the engine.

“Very much. It wasn’t so scary as they show in the movies”

Hannibal laughs.

They drive for thirty minutes and Will looks through the window. He watches the spruces and pines and all kinds of trees, all covered in snow. He crosses his arms over his chest and feels cozy in his seat.

“Still cold? I turned on the heating but maybe it needs some more time” Lecter says.

“No, it’s really nice. The view is amazing”

There are no houses for most of the drive, just trees and bushes and the road ahead of them. It’s a late afternoon and the sun is very low on the horizon, the sky is pinkish already. Will looks at Hannibal and wonders. Why did the man called him ‘sweetheart’ again?

A squirrel runs across the road and Will sighs with relief seeing it still alive and well when they pass it.

“I bought a photo album for your parents. Do you think it’s okay?” Will asks.

“You needn’t have” Hannibal says warmly “But I’m sure they’ll be delighted”

Will is tiny bit curious what Hannibal has for him but he doesn’t ask.

They arrive at an iron gate and Hannibal reaches for a remote to open it. A minute after they cross the gate, Will sees a mansion. A huge house, covered in ivy in a few places. It suits a noble family and Will feels overwhelmed. He doesn’t belong here, he never did. Why did he think coming here would be a good idea?

“Will?” Hannibal asks as he opens the door for Will to get out of the car.

Will raises his eyebrows and steps outside shyly. Did Hannibal bring him here to make fun of him? And so that his family have entertainment of meeting someone poorer and…

“Will?”

Will hears a voice of an older woman. It’s gentle and mature and soothing, similar to Hannibal’s. Lecter stands by Will and looks at a lady by the door. She’s old but she looks very good. She’s wearing only a crimson sweater and beige trousers so the chill air makes her shake from cold.

“Yes, mother, this is Will. But let’s go inside. You’re freezing”

Will is still somewhat shaken and stunned by everything and he still has difficulties processing what’s happening.

They step inside the house and Hannibal takes off Will’s coat and hangs it. Then he gets rid of his own outer garment.

The lady extends her hand towards Will.

“I’m Simonetta. It’s very nice to meet you finally”

“The pleasure is mine, ma’am”

“Oh, please. Call me by my name; that’s what it’s for”

Will smiles shyly.

“Where is father?” Hannibal asks.

“In the kitchen. _He already spoilt one dish_ ” Simonetta laughs and Hannibal chuckles.

Will doesn’t understand the last sentence but he smiles politely, too.

“She said my father spoilt one dish already” Hannibal explains and Will blushes; this is going to be weird.

They all go to the living room and Will continues to be amazed by the glory of this place. The room is huge, filled with paintings and photos and trinkets of all kinds. Hannibal takes Will by the hand and they sit on a couch. Simonetta sits in the armchair next to them.

“How was your Christmas, Will?” Simonetta asks.

“It was fine. My cousin stole the opportunity to announce his engagement. And I ate too much, as usual”

Simonetta seems not to be understanding the whole sentence so Hannibal explains a few words for her.

“And how do you like it here?”

“Well… I saw only the airport and a beautiful landscape but it’s very nice and it’s a good change from the busy streets and the loud neighbourhood”

Again, Hannibal translates some of the words and then an older, well-built man walks into the room. Hannibal stands, so Will stands as well, as the man approaches them.

“Father, meet Will. Will, this is my father, Robert”

“It’s an honour to meet you, sir” Will shakes the man’s hand.

Robert nods and smiles.

“He’s even more polite than you said” the man says to Hannibal and then sits on the smaller couch opposite Will and his son.

“Did you like the car? I bought it recently. It can go over two hundred sixty kilometres per hour” Robert says.

“Well, we didn’t manage to find out but it’s a very nice car. Are you a fan of motoring?”

“I am. Simonetta gets tired when I talk about cars so it’s good to have you two for a few days”

Hannibal rolls his eyes.

“I didn’t talk to Will about my previous job because I didn’t want to bore him to death and you have to blab about cars the first chance you meet him?”

“What would you rather have me do? Take out a family album and describe every single person and situation when the photo was taken?”

Hannibal sighs and Will squeezes his hand.

“My present” Will whispers.

“In the luggage?” Hannibal asks as quietly and Will nods.

“You’ll give it during dinner” Lecter says and strokes Will’s knee.

“What are you whispering about?” Robert asks.

“Maybe you should go and see to the dinner and I’ll show Will around?”

Robert nods and Simonetta smiles. Hannibal takes Will by the hand and they leave the living room. Hannibal grabs Will’s luggage and leads them upstairs.

“We have a room prepared for you but I thought that we would sleep together. Is that okay? I mean we’ve slept together before and I already told you how much I want you to help me warm up my huge bed. But if you'd feel more comfortable sleeping alone, then...”

“No, it’s okay. I’d love to share your bed” Will says and brushes his fingers against Hannibal’s hand.

They enter the room and Will’s in awe again. The place is big; there is a wooden wardrobe by the wall and a huge bed (Hannibal wasn’t lying) near it. There is even a fireplace. And a few statues over it.

“Do you want to unpack now or…?”

“Shouldn’t we join your parents?”

“We don’t have to spend the whole time in their company. You’ll see them at dinner, which is in about fifteen minutes, knowing my father”

“Did you get your cooking skills from him?”

“Definitely not” Hannibal chuckles.

Will browses though his stuff and finds the present for Hannibal’s parents.

“You know, your father speaks quite good English” Will notices.

“Yeah, turns out he’d been learning before meeting you”

Will’s eyes widen.

“You’re joking?”

“No. He said he signed up for an online course or whatever. My parents are old, they don’t work anymore; what else do they have to do?”

“Wow”

Hannibal sits on the bed and watches Will unpack.

“Another engagement in the family, huh?”

“Yeah. Not surprising, though”

“Did your family ask about _your_ fiancée?”

Will throws an annoyed look.

“I believe they lost all hope and it’s not entertaining for them anymore to torment me with such questions”

“Shame. I’d love to see their faces when you tell them you flew to Europe to meet your boyfriend’s parents and they greeted you like their own son”

Will’s mouth parts slightly and he’s processing what he just heard. Hannibal called him his boyfriend. Well, it’s probably the best description of their relationship but they never said it, never just like that, never so openly. Sweetheart, boyfriend, what’s next?

“Well, we should probably be going. I want to show you a bit of the house before dinner”

It got dark outside and the inside as well as the outside of the house is lit with lamps and candles. Hannibal leads Will by the hand and shows him a library. He talks about the first books he read and the first he got; explains some of the titles because they’re not in English.

Will touches some books and feels their age. Not first editions or anything, although who knows with these people, but old enough. The paper in some is so perfectly preserved and in some the pages turned completely yellow and the print is almost illegible.

Hannibal shows his room from his youth and a secret room he liked to hide in. He’s mostly proud of the secret passages and corridors; the rest is boring.

Will admires the portraits and paintings and sculptures. The house is a mix of the past and the present really. There are electronic devices and modern art as well as old fashioned tools and vinyls.

They go to the dining room, Will holding a present, and see Simonetta lighting up a candle.

Robert walks in with a few plates to lay the table and Hannibal helps his father with the task. Will feels awkward but in a moment Hannibal tells his father to stay for a moment because Will has something for them.

“It’s nothing. Just a small proof of appreciation and gratefulness for having me here”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all. We love to have you over” Simonetta says upon taking the album.

Robert smiles and goes with Hannibal to fetch the trays with the dinner. Simonetta sits by the table and Will is reluctant to take a seat. The table is huge and he has no idea where he should sit. It’s not like with his family dinners when he can sit wherever he wants. This calls for a noble code probably.

Hannibal walks in and frowns.

“Why don’t you sit down, darling? Please” Hannibal puts down a tray and moves a chair for Will to sit in.

Will complies but blinks. _Darling_? So that’s what's next.

Robert is the next one to come back with a tray and now they are all seated. They take a piece of meat form one tray and potatoes from another and a salad from a bowl next to them. Hannibal pours everyone a glass of wine and smiles at Will while doing so. Is she showing off to his parents? What’s going on?

“I believe Hannibal told us everything about you that I might wanted to ask right now but tell me – what happened to your parents?”

Will swallows a piece of meat and washes it down with the wine.

“They’re alive. They moved to Chicago a few years ago. They left me on my own and I, uh… I never saw them again”

“You don’t talk to your parents? At all?”

“No.  They disowned me. They raised me, came to the conclusion they were not proud of me and left” Will says calmly; he realises he never told Hannibal that story.

“Are they not in touch with the rest of your family?”

“I don’t know. I don’t ask. They don’t want to talk to me and that’s enough”

Robert nods in acknowledgement but it’s obvious he regrets he asked. Will looks at Simonetta, who whispers something to Hannibal, probably requires translation, and smiles.

“I know your family don’t treat you with respect you deserve, I hope you don’t mind me saying that, but are you going to introduce Hannibal to them?”

Hannibal snaps at Robert.

“Father…”

“I’m sorry. I’m just glad to see my son is happy and talks a lot about this one man. It would be nice to know Will’s family appreciates you, too”

Will feels bad and guilty even though it’s not his fault his family is so narrow-minded.

“I’d love them to meet Hannibal”

“I’m not going to push you” Hannibal says while caressing Will’s hand “Now let’s change the topic”

They eat the dinner and Will compliments Robert’s culinary skills. They talk about the rest of Hannibal’s family and their Christmas and Will feels happy. A strange family greeted him with more warmth than his own do. They laugh at the anecdotes from a few days before and Will notices Hannibal’s gaze on him.

The evening passes and they finish the dinner. Simonetta yawns discreetly and Will offers to wash the dishes. Robert wants to protest but Hannibal says he will help and that solves it.

Robert and Simonetta go upstairs to their bedroom while Hannibal collects the dirty dishes for Will to wash.

“You never told me about your parents” Hannibal observes.

“You never asked” Will replies with a shrug.

“I hope my father didn’t offend you”

“No. I don’t mind talking about it. I just never did”

Hannibal steps closer to Will and embraces him from behind.

“My parents like you. Very much”

“I’m glad. They are certainly polite and welcoming”

Hannibal kisses Will’s neck and Will sighs. He washes the last plate and puts it on the drier. He turns to Hannibal.

“Let’s go to our room, shall we?” Lecter says and takes Will by the hand.

Already in the bedroom, Will looks for a pair of pyjamas and Hannibal sits on the bed.

“Are you not curious about the present I have for you?” Lecter asks, a mischievous smirk on his face.

“What makes you think that?”

“You haven’t asked about it yet”

“Maybe it’s because I’m polite and well-behaved” Will turns to Hannibal with a smile.

“Oh, all right” Hannibal looks away, pretending to care about the weather outside.

“So what is it?” Will asks, stepping closer to the bed.

Hannibal shifts his gaze at Will again and blinks.

“I want to show you something beautiful first”

Will frowns when Hannibal approaches him and stands behind him, placing his palms on Will’s eyes so that he couldn’t see anything. They make a couple of steps and Will doesn’t know where he is but it’s not far away from the bed. Hannibal removes his palms and Will sees his reflection in a huge mirror. He laughs.

“It’s a very nice mirror”

Hannibal sighs and puts his hands on Will’s neck, still standing behind the man.

“It’s you. You look beautiful tonight” Hannibal says and Will chuckles – how can he look beautiful after such a long flight and the dinner and a generally long day?

Hannibal kisses Will’s neck gently.

“You _are_ beautiful. Every day. Always” he adds.

Will looks in the mirror and sighs. He can’t really see this. But he sees Hannibal behind him, with the chin on his shoulder and he smiles.

“ _We_ are” Will says and turns to face Hannibal.

He kisses the man and puts his arms around the man’s body. Hannibal makes a few steps back and they are in the bedroom again. Will feels a hand on his ass and for a moment he’s weightless as Hannibal falls on the bed with Will on top of him.

“I believe you’re ready for your present” Hannibal says and Will’s heart starts beating faster.

They waited long enough and Will is more or less ready, although he’d rather have a shower before. But what about Hannibal’s parents? Won’t they hear? What if they wake them up?

Hannibal reaches for the drawer next to the bed and opens it. Will guesses what the man is looking for.

His eyes go wide from shock when Hannibal takes out a small navy blue box with a velvet wrapping. Will moves a bit, allowing Hannibal to sit up and give the box to Will properly.

“Merry Christmas” Hannibal whispers and Will wants to laugh - Christmas is over - but he can’t because he’s getting more and more afraid every second.

He looks at Hannibal and then at the box and he opens it slowly. He wants to close his eyes to prolong the moment but he doesn’t and he lays eyes on a golden seal ring. He opens his mouth in astonishment and swallows.

“It’s been in my family for a few centuries. My father gave it to me”

“It’s beautiful. But…”

“But?” Hannibal tenses.

“I mean… it’s not my present, is it?”

“Well, it is. Don’t you like it?” Will hears fear in Hannibal’s voice.

“It’s wonderful but you can’t give it to me. It’s probably extremely valuable and I don’t mean only the price”

“I want you to have it. To know what you mean to me. Hell, it’s not even half as valuable to me as you are”

Will looks at Hannibal with big blue glistening eyes and Hannibal is lost. He reaches for Will’s hand and then takes out the ring from the box. He puts the ring on Will’s finger and smiles because it’s slightly too big.

Will looks at his hand wearing the ring and then back at Hannibal.

“I can’t kiss you now because it would look like I was kissing you because you gave me this expensive gift” Will complains.

“Okay, then put it back in the box and you can kiss me with no limit” Hannibal grins and Will chuckles, but that’s exactly what he does.

Will takes the ring off and places it back in the box, which he then closes and puts on the nightstand next to the bed. Only then does he kiss Hannibal. Lecter smiles into it and grasps at Will’s shirt.

“Let’s take a shower and then I’m going to use you to warm up the bed” Hannibal smirks and Will laughs.

That’s exactly what happens. They wash each other, gently, lovingly rubbing and massaging. There are no heated kisses, only sweet and delicate pecks and brushes of fingers against one another.

They return to the bed in their pyjamas and Hannibal embraces Will tightly under the duvet.

“Did you really not tell anyone you left the States?” Hannibal asks with heavy eyes.

Will strokes Lecter’s chest and murmurs. Hannibal kisses Will’s forehead and they fall asleep in the entanglement of warm bodies.


	13. Chapter 13

Will opens his eyes and is immediately greeted by the sight of Hannibal, sitting on the bed, watching him. Lecter smiles seeing Will awake and strokes the man’s hair.

“Good morning, sweetheart”

Will blinks. Why the hell did Hannibal start calling him that?

“I made you an omelette” Lecter points at the tray on the nightstand “I need to drive to the city to buy some stuff. I wanted to take you but my father said to let you have some rest. He wants to show you the garden. Would you like that?”

Will nods and sits up on the bed. Hannibal moves closer and leans in to place a kiss on Will’s forehead.

“Well then… I’ll go. I’ll be back in an hour”

Hannibal leaves the room and Will is left alone in it. He reaches for the plate with the omelette and eats it. Then he puts on a pair of trousers and a shirt and he goes downstairs to wash the plate.

“Good morning, Will. How did you sleep?” Robert asks upon entering the kitchen.

“Good morning. Um, I slept well. You have a very comfortable bed”

Robert laughs. He’s wearing dungarees and dirty gloves.

“Come, I’ll show you our garden”

Will follows Robert out of the house and into the greenhouse behind it. He didn’t manage to see it the day before, mainly because it was dark, and now he can see it clearly. Equally huge construction, already blinding with its glory.

They enter the greenhouse and Will can smell all the plants there, all the flowers and bushes. The mixture overwhelms Will’s nostrils and he closes his eyes in attempt to divide the scents between their sources.

Robert shows Will the most rare species that he is proud of having and tells how to treat them; if he lacks words, he simply shows Will the products and the tools he uses.

Will is reliving the experience from the botanic garden and he smiles. He admires various colours of the flowers that cannot be named, at least Will can’t think of any appropriate name. It would be a crime to describe the beauty and magnificence of a flower by simply stating it’s blue or even sapphire.

Robert stops by one plant and checks if it has enough water. Then he applies some kind of cream on its leaves.

“It’s really nice to finally meet you” the older man says while looking around “Hannibal has been talking about you a lot. I remember when he said he found a new job in another school and then, some time after that, he said he had a colleague that was somehow special”

Will doesn’t know what to do with this knowledge. He smiles politely and looks at Roberts hands, now buried deep in the ground to remove a withered part of a plant.

“It was good because he didn’t talk much after his previous partner left him. It took him a… a while to recover. But I was slightly worried when he kept talking about you; how beautiful and smart you are. I didn’t want him to be disappointed and hurt again”

Will nods.

“I don’t intend to hurt him”

Robert smiles.

“He was so happy when you agreed to… go out?” Will nods – yes, that’s the phrase “with him. He used to say weekends were boring because he couldn’t see you. It got to a point when he said he couldn’t imagine spending a day without you”

Will feels awkward. He understands that Hannibal’s father has only the best in mind but telling him all this… feels strange.

“I really like him, too. I… it’s more than that but I guess I’m afraid to say it right now”

“I believe you should be prepared because one day he may surprise you”

Will nods and looks around. _He already has. And he definitely will._

Will doesn’t notice how time passes and when he and Robert walk into the kitchen, Hannibal and Simonetta are preparing dinner. When younger Lecter sees Will, he smiles. His hands are kneading a dough.

“Did you like the garden?” Will nods.

“You father is a great guide. I see where you get your passion to biology and nature”

“I’ll need a few things to the garden so you can go to the city with Will after dinner” Robert proposes.

“All right. Though we’ll have to be careful. I was spotted by a journalist”

“I already see the headlines” Robert laughs.

Hannibal rolls his eyes and spreads the dough over the form. Will sits by a small table.

“What would he write? You were in a shop. That’s not odd, is it?” Will asks.

“They know when Hannibal visits and they always make a sensation out of it. We’re one of a few noble families remaining in the country. And our history has been discussed and criticised again and again. They make up rumours every time they see Hannibal back home” Robert says.

“Like what?”

“That I’ll stay. That I’m looking for a wife. That I was deported. Anything people will read” Hannibal explains.

“So if they see you with me…” Will seems worried.

“They’ll write lies anyway. Don’t worry about it” Hannibal says and approaches Will; he kisses his head and goes to the sink to wash his hands.

“I’ll help your mother with the dinner. You can come in half an hour” Robert says.

Hannibal takes Will by the hand and leads them to the living room. Will sits on the couch and looks through the window while Hannibal stands by the fireplace and stirs the ashes. It’s snowing. It’s been snowing ever since Will arrived.

“I’ve seen some articles about you. They pissed me off” Will says and Hannibal laughs.

“Well, we’ve learnt not to care about that and live our lives. I visit my parents, we talk and catch up. Anything they write after…”

“You don’t even see it because you’re across the ocean”

Hannibal tilts his head.

“That’s true. I just don’t care. I told you – some people take nobility as a blessing and some as a responsibility”

“And you want to run away from it. I remember”

Hannibal sighs and takes a seat next to Will.

“Do you hold it against me?”

Will smiles bitterly. He looks around, at the beautiful paintings, soft fabrics and then he looks at Hannibal.

“You just seemed so different form me – without any concerns, with rich noble family, generally happy with your life. And the picture gets more and more clear. We’re not so different after all”

Hannibal brushes his fingers against Will’s hands; he’s not sure if he should touch the man properly.

“Are you disappointed?”

“No. No, that’s not what I meant. I’m only beginning to see why you understand me so well and I’m starting to understand you. Your family connections make you uncomfortable, too”

“So I run away” Hannibal says quietly.

“I wish I could do that”

Hannibal strokes Will’s arms and then falls into a warm embrace with the man. The fire is not burning and it’s really cold outside. Yet these two men give each other enough warmth not to care about the rest of the world.

“Where have you been all my life, Will?” Hannibal whispers.

They hear someone clear their throat and they turn to the door. Robert.

“Forgive me, I didn’t want to interrupt but we need Hannibal’s help in the kitchen”

Will chuckles and Hannibal follows Robert to the kitchen. He helps with the sauce and Will tries to talk to Simonetta while the two men take care of the dinner.

Later they finally eat the meal and Hannibal takes Will to the city. They drive for fifteen minutes and Hannibal parks the car in front of a giant supermarket. They buy what Robert wrote on a piece of paper and then Hannibal takes Will to a café for a piece of pie. They sit in their booth and get the dessert.

Hannibal smiles and looks through the window. Then he frowns.

“What is it?” Will asks.

“This stupid journalist. Don’t look”

Will feels discouraged but keeps eating the pie. Hannibal sips on his coffee and looks around.

“When your parents die…” Will starts and immediately acts defensively “I don’t mean to… They have plenty of time ahead of them… but just when they die, will you come here? For good?”

Hannibal looks at Will and considers his answer.

“I don’t want to”

“But you’ll probably inherit the manor and all the beautiful things”

“You should already know that I don’t care for that”

“It has a sentimental value. It’s be a shame to just abandon it”

Hannibal bores through Will with his eyes.

“Would you come here with me?”

Will swallows the piece of cake he has in his mouth and wonders. _Would he?_

“Um…”

“I don’t want any gold or fortune or mansions if I am to live alone”

“Well, we don’t have to worry about your heritage yet” Will says with a fake smile and finishes the dessert.

They drive back home and Will helps Hannibal unpack their bags from the shop. Then they go to the living room, where Robert drinks whiskey and reads a newspaper.

“Where is mother?”

“In the library. She’s looking for a book she allegedly borrowed form aunt Cecilia”

Hannibal opens a cabinet to bring two more glasses and pours himself and Will a drink. He hands the glass to Will with something strange in his eyes.

“Is this the whiskey you got for Christmas?” Hannibal asks after sipping the drink.

“Yes. Good, isn’t it?”

“Quite strong”

“I’m not going to drink the whole bottle. Just a glass or two and I’m going to sleep”

“I was thinking we could go for a walk” Hannibal suggests to Will, who nods and seems enthusiastic about the idea.

“Just don’t be too long. It’s getting dark” Robert warns and Will frowns gently.

They are big boys; men actually. They’re not scared of the darkness. And it seems like there is not a living soul in the neighbourhood who should they be afraid of? Or maybe _what_?

“Are there any wild animals here?” Will asks quietly.

“Of course not” Hannibal dismisses Will’s worries “Father, you scared Will”

“Forgive me”

Hannibal and Will finish the drink and put on their coats. Younger Lecter grabs Will’s hand and leads them ahead, to the forest.

It is getting dark but the snow on the ground reflects some of the remaining light so it doesn’t seem so scary. They move forward and Will notices a very shy beam of light in the distance. At the beginning it’s a blur but with time Will can make out the shape of things.

They bend their heads under a branch and enter a magnificent small piece of ground surrounded by thick trees and bush. There is a high lamp in the centre and a pair of metal slides next to it. It’s like a hidden part of the globe where the time stopped. It’s quiet and peaceful.

Will looks at the place in awe while Hannibal approaches the slides and shakes the snow off them. He sits on one and smiles towards Will.

“Come, sit” Lecter points at the second slide.

Will complies, still looking around.

“It’s beautiful here”

“I used to come here with my sister” Hannibal confesses and Will immediately tenses “My parents built the slides when I was nine but we found the place earlier. Misha and I would sit on the grass and look at the ladybirds. We’d count the spots on them”

Will reaches for Hannibal’s gloved hand and squeezes it.

“A witchy beauty about this place and I can’t deny how strange it makes me feel” Lecter says.

“Like the time stopped?” Will asks quietly and Hannibal looks straight into his eyes “Like you moved into the past?”

“Past, present, future… It all feels the same here”

“Do you come here when you visit your parents and imagine your sister is still alive?”

“I can feel her presence here”

“Close your eyes” Will whispers and Hannibal follows the instruction.

Will shifts a bit closer and is aware Hannibal can feel his warm breath on his cheek. Will leans even closer, takes both of Hannibal’s hands in his own, and kisses the man’s temple. Hannibal sighs contently. They sit in silence for a few minutes and Will enjoys the slow motion he’s experiencing.

Then Hannibal kisses Will softly on the lips and leads them back home.

When they get there, the house is quiet and the lights are off. Robert and Simonetta are probably asleep.

Hannibal pours him and Will one more drink and they take the glasses to their bedroom. They sit on the bed, Will takes off his boots and the watch and Hannibal shifts to sit behind the man. Will smiles and feels Hannibal nuzzle his neck. Will giggles. Maybe it’s the alcohol. The whiskey is strong, after all.

“Shall we take a shower?” Hannibal whispers in Will’s ear and Will shivers.

“A quick one, I’m tired”

Hannibal nods and they go to the bathroom. They wash each other and brush their teeth. Will has got used to that. He doesn’t want that to change.

They put on their pyjamas and lie in bed. Hannibal embraces Will from behind, offering warmth and extreme closeness.

“Did you want your sister to meet me?” Will asks quietly and Hannibal chuckles.

“It sounds terrible when you say it. Like I was a mad man”

“I’m not judging you. I was just curious if _that’s_ why you took me there”

“It was one of the reasons” Hannibal admits and kisses Will’s neck “Good night, sweetheart”

Will waits a moment and then speaks again, aware Hannibal is still awake.

“Why do you keep calling me that? Sweetheart, darling”

“You don’t like it?” Hannibal tenses slightly behind Will.

“Well, that’s not the thing exactly, though I’m not used to that. I was only wondering why now? You started when I arrived here. You never called me that before”

Hannibal supports his head on his elbow and looks at Will in the darkness of the room. Gentle beams of the moon caresses Will’s features and Hannibal cannot withhold nor express his enchantment.

Will feels the man next to him shift so he turns as well and looks at Lecter.

“It wasn’t a conscious decision” Hannibal says while stroking Will’s face “It was an impulse. When I saw you at the airport… after just a few days of not seeing you… It just slipped out. If you want me to stop, I’ll stop”

“No” Will protests a bit too quickly than he intended “It’s nice. Keep calling me that”

Hannibal smiles and kisses Will.

“Sweetheart” Lecter whispers and places his lips on Will’s cheek “Darling” the other cheek “Honey?”

Will laughs.

“Anything. Everything”

Hannibal kisses Will’s forehead one more time and finally they fall asleep in each other’s arms.


	14. Chapter 14

Will wakes up taking a deep breath and feels how all his limbs are spread on the huge bed. He’s facing the window so he shifts his head gently to see if Hannibal is still in bed. He is.

The man’s back is turned to Will and Will hears very light snoring. He smiles.

He’d love to stroke the man’s hair and arms but he doesn’t want to wake up the man. So should he get up? Brush his teeth? Make breakfast?

Will turns to the window again and is tempted to groan. It’s snowing again. Does the snow ever stop? But Will guesses that’s the part of the witchy beauty.

He gets up gently, careful not to awake Hannibal, and goes to the bathroom. On his way there he looks back at Lecter, soundly asleep, and feels the mystical warmth engulfing his body. He cannot imagine _this_ not being his everyday life. He cannot imagine going to his previous life with lonely evenings and – he knows it’s cheap – no one calling him sweetheart.

Will enters the bathroom and reaches for his toothbrush. He grins when he sees another one next to his own. He’s not alone here.

He washes his face, brushes his teeth, pees and washes his hands. He exits the bathroom and Hannibal is still sleeping, his hands supporting his head. He looks like an innocent child.

Will looks for fresh clothes to change into and hears Hannibal grunt softly. Will turns to the man, who is looking at him as well, and sits on the bed.

“What time is it?” Hannibal asks, his voice hoarse and weak.

Will shrugs his shoulders; he has no idea. Lecter moves to check the time on his watch, lying on the nightstand, and frowns.

“Seven thirty. You sure you don’t want to stay in bed for a while longer, honey?”

Will smiles at the endearment and shakes his head.

“I don’t want to waste any more time” he whispers.

Hannibal grabs his nape and pulls him into a gentle kiss. Then he stands up and goes to the bathroom. Will dresses up while Hannibal refreshes himself. They go downstairs to the kitchen and Hannibal opens the fridge.

“Hmmm, pancakes?”

Will nods with a grin and helps take out a bowl and two plates. Hannibal mixes the ingredients while Will pours some oil on the frying pan. Lecter finds a few moments to steal a kiss from Will or cover his nose in flour. They laugh and only when they hear someone enter the kitchen do they straighten up and stand with a fork by the stove.

“Good morning, my dear” Simonetta says, her voice smooth and warm “Why are you… not sleeping?”

Will turns to the woman and she frowns and then laughs out loud. That makes Will frown and Hannibal wants to check what is happening. He looks at Will and smiles.

“You have flour on your nose, darling” Lecter says in a low tone and wipes the powder away with his finger, then kisses Will, which makes the man blush.

They make the pancakes and eat them; Robert joins them when the meal is ready. Later they clean up the mess they made while Robert and Simonetta go to work in the garden.

“I was thinking we could spend the day in the library? I’m sure you’d find a book or two you might like to borrow or read while we’re here” Hannibal suggests and Will smiles.

They enter the room and Will feels a familiar fondness. There is something about the last few months that makes him smile involuntarily and there is something about this man, standing right beside him, that makes him forget everything. It’s like over twenty years of his life was gone, wiped out from his resume and he is an infant in the world. There is so much to discover.

Will browses through the books, guesses which ones Hannibal has read, which ones he likes and they make a game out of it. Everytime Will guesses correctly, Hannibal offers him a kiss.

Around noon, as Will passes another shelf, he spots a guitar standing alone in the corner.

“Do you play?” he asks turning to Hannibal.

Hannibal smiles but shakes his head.

“I got it on my seventeenth birthday but I never learnt to play it”

“Shame. We could make a contest” Will says with a smirk.

“Do you play?”

“A little. I learnt when I was in college”

Hannibal reaches for the instrument and hands it to Will. It’s not covered in dust; Simonetta must be cleaning it once in a while. Will takes the guitar and brushes a finger gently over the strings. He checks if it’s in tune and smiles.

“Play something for me” Hannibal asks quietly.

Will wonders if he knows any song by heart and if he can still play it. He positions his fingertips over the instrument and sighs. His hands feel unsteady at the beginning but after the intro he gains confidence and even starts singing quietly.

“ _You are everything I wanted_  
_the scars of all I’ll ever know_

 _If I told you you were right_  
_Would you take my hand tonight?_  
_If I told you reasons why_  
_Would you leave your life and ride?_ ”

Will looks at Hannibal, who seems to be transfixed, focused solely on Will’s hands and his voice.

“ _You saw all my pieces broken  
This darkness that I could never show_

 _If I told you you were right_  
_Would you take my hand tonight?_  
_If I told you reasons why_  
_Would you leave your life and ride?_ ”

[[Cary Brothers - Ride](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMhZ8IImz8c)]

Will concludes the song but keeps his hands on the guitar. He’d feel awkward having nothing to hold onto. It’s stupid but he often finds himself looking for even the smallest item to keep his hands busy. He hates the feeling of being empty handed.

“Did you write this?” Hannibal asks and Will laughs.

“You’re kidding. No. I once heard this song and decided to learn how to play it because it’s…”

“Relatable?” Hannibal prompts.

“Yeah. More and more with every day”

Hannibal takes the instrument from Will’s hands to kiss them.

“Now that I know your talent, you have no excuse not to sing me a lullaby every night”

Will snorts.

“Please” Hannibal says quietly with sparks in his eyes.

Will smiles and leans in to kiss Hannibal on the lips.

*******

Later that evening Will takes a shower while Hannibal starts the fire in their bedroom. The man makes their bed and lights a few candles. He brings them a couple of oranges and peels them.

When Will exits the bathroom, it’s Hannibal’s turn to shower.

Will eats a piece of orange. It’s sweet and juicy; Will has to lick his fingers.

Then he lies in bed and extends his arms to feel the emptiness of it. He already misses the moment when Hannibal will lie next to him and remind him that this is real.

Will caresses the sheet on Hannibal’s side and closes his eyes. He inhales, hoping to get a scent of Hannibal’s presence. He does. Because Hannibal opens the door and emerges in the bedroom again. He steps closer to the bed, sits on it, moves his hand to brush Will’s, whose eyes are still shut.

“We have a big day tomorrow” Hannibal whispers and Will immediately tenses; he opens his eyes.

“We do?”

“Yes. It’s the New Year’s Eve. My parents organise a small party. Aunt Cecilia will come and I’m sure she’d love to meet you”

“Great. Another person I have to impress and present myself worthy of-”

Will is cut off by Hannibal’s lips on his own.

“You don’t have to prove anything to anyone” Lecter says firmly.

Will sighs and Hannibal looks at the bowl with the oranges. He takes one and eats it. They lie next to each other, Hannibal’s hand casually brushing Will’s arms, and Will blinks to check if that’s not just his mind playing tricks on him.

“I want to show you to my family” Will states confidently.

Hannibal smiles, a proud and happy gesture, and supports his head on his elbow.

“Will you tell them I’ll come?”

“Um, no…? If I don’t tell and just bring you along maybe they won’t shut the door in our faces”

“Maybe” Hannibal strokes Will’s hair.

“If they don’t accept you… if they don’t accept _me_ … _This_ being a part of me… Then there’s no reason for me to keep seeing them and calling them my family”

Hannibal leans in and kisses Will’s forehead.

“You could have another family” Lecter whispers and Will shivers.

“Could I?”

Hannibal smiles and moves to lie on top of Will; he kisses the man’s lips and then neck.

“You can have anything, everything. And I want to be the one to give it to you”

Will breathes out and tilts his head. He tangles his hands in Hannibal’s hair and enjoys the wet kisses on his neck.

Lecter caresses Will’s sides and arms and moves to kiss Will’s collarbone. They can both feel their hot breaths mix in the air and fill the room with anticipation. Will shivers and seeks Hannibal’s lips. They both taste of oranges and smile at the fact.

Will knows the exact moment when his brain starts sending impulses to inform his body of the impending arousal. His still soft cock twitches and he feels the heaviness of Hannibal’s penis pressing against his body.

Lecter explores Will’s mouth and moans softly, the vibrations make Will shake with lust. He grabs Hannibal’s nape and swears he won’t let the man free now. He’s aware Hannibal can feel his cock harden in his pyjama pants but he’s not ashamed. They know each other’s bodies fairly well by now; there are no surprises.

“Will” Hannibal says between kisses and when the man underneath continues kissing him, he pulls away and puts a finger on Will’s lips “Will…” Hannibal looks into Will’s eyes “I want you…”

Will tenses underneath. A million thoughts go through his brain. He woke up with a feeling he’d love to try; that maybe he’s ready to go all the way. Now he tenses, afraid he won’t satisfy Hannibal or that he’ll do something wrong and it will be weird to stay afterwards. Or what if-

“…to make love to me”

Will only now processes the full sentence. _I want you to make love to me_.

You.

To me.

Will blinks.

“What?” Will asks breathlessly.

Hannibal caresses Will’s cheek.

“I don’t want to push you. But I very much want you to make love to me”

“But, um… I thought…”

“You thought you would be on the receiving end?”

“Well, yes”

“Do you want to be?”

“Um… I kind of… I’ve been mentally preparing for such scenario”

“That’s fine with me, Will. I just assumed you might like to start familiarizing yourself with the process from the other side”

Will chuckles softly. Hannibal uses too many unnecessarily complicated words in regard to something so natural and easy as he believes sex is. Or at least should be.

“Teach me from _this_ side” Will says and starts caressing Hannibal’s arms.

Lecter smiles and kisses Will; softly, with warmth and affection rather than carnal passion. He undoes the first button in Will’s pyjama top and suddenly a thought springs to Will’s mind. He grabs Hannibal’s hand and tenses.

“Wait! What about your parents?”

“They’re already asleep. Besides, the walls are very thick. And old. They know what sex sounds and looks like”

Will blushes and reaches for Hannibal’s buttons in his pyjamas. They kiss and slowly, gradually, undress each other under the duvet. Hannibal strips the shirt off of Will and takes off his own top.

They’ve already seen each other naked; hell, they touched each other, washed each other’s bodies. There should be no surprises, yet it feels strangely new to Will.

They achieved a high level of intimacy via conversations and mutual understanding and Will has come to a conclusion that this next step is a mere consummation of their arrangement.

Will tugs at Hannibal’s waistband and tries to push the pants down. Hannibal chuckles when he fails and moves up from the bed. He takes off his pants and turns to grasp Will’s. They remain in their underwear and Hannibal can make out the shape of Will’s cock underneath, which makes him smirk devilishly. He bends and kisses Will’s hip as his hands caress the waistband of Will’s briefs.

“Ready?” Lecter asks.

Will sees Hannibal’s dark boxers creating a tent and he bites his lip. He nods and is immediately robbed of his underwear. Lecter pushes down his own briefs, revealing the already hard cock.

He lies back on the bed, on top of Will and kisses the man. His hands explore Will’s body as if they never touched another human being. Lecter is gentle and careful; he caresses Will’s arms and sides. Will shifts on the bed and opens his legs for Lecter to fit between them; their thighs rubs against one another.

Hannibal kisses Will’s cheek and the corner of his mouth. It’s sweet and Will relaxes under the touch. He knew it wouldn’t be a simple fuck with Hannibal but it feels like the man completely forgot they were going at it.

Will feels the wet kisses on his neck and collarbone and he arches his back slightly. Hannibal’s hands move to explore Will’s chest and fingertips brush against Will’s nipples.

Will is smooth and the place he has the most hair are his armpits (excluding head, of course). Hannibal’s chest hair tickles Will and the man shivers.

Lecter is amazed by the way the candle light makes Will’s skin glow and he wants to kiss and touch every inch of this perfection. He lifts his head a bit and stares in awe and the man underneath him and Will frowns.

“Something wrong?”

Will is struck with fear and worry but Hannibal only offers him one of the warm smiles and kisses his belly. Will’s cock is hard and hanging over his body and Hannibal dares to touch it. There is no hesitation, only assurance Will is still totally aware and willing. Hannibal gives him a gentle squeeze and then moves lower to place a kiss on the stiff member.

Will gasps; they never did that before. Never with their mouth. But it feels good.

Hannibal licks the head and sucks on it, looking into Will’s eyes. Will’s face reddens madly and there’s a nagging urge to looks away but he wants to memorise this moment and store it for eternity. He lets himself watch as Hannibal takes him again in his mouth but this time farther and farther with every second.

Will’s mouth opens as he sees Lecter’s tongue slide under his cock and a wave of pleasure flows through him. It lasts for a moment longer and then Hannibal sits up and moves to open the drawer in the nightstand. Will sighs and tenses again. _Here it comes_.

Lecter takes out a bottle with lubricant and places it on the bed. He kisses Will’s ear and cheek and feels the tension growing in Will.

“You sure you want this?”

Will nods and embraces Hannibal. He kisses the older man and let himself be turned on his stomach. Hannibal kisses Will’s neck and shoulder blades, following by the whole spine. Lecter is thorough and gentle. He makes sure he doesn’t miss a spot.

He reaches the small of Will’s back and then moves to kiss Will’s asscheek. He doesn’t stop at one – he leaves plenty of gentle lip brushes and even grazes his teeth against Will’s smooth skin. He gets to Will’s entrance and Will feels the warm breath there. He wants to laugh; it seems so casual, that this man, this perfect sweet and caring man has his mouth over Will’s hole.

He doesn’t get the chance to laugh as he feels wetness spread over his entrance. Hannibal’s tongue massages Will’s hole and prepares him for the next act in the most erotic and pleasurable way. Will never really imagined _this_ being a part of their intercourse (or generally a part of his sexual experience with anyone) but he has to admit it’s good. It feels strange but good.

After a moment Hannibal rises from behind Will and it leaves him an opportunity to catch his breath. Lecter shifts and grabs the bottle with lube. He pours some on one finger and kisses Will’s ass and hip.

“If it’s too uncomfortable just say and I’ll stop, okay?”

Will only murmurs something into the pillow and waits.

Hannibal caresses Will’s side and hip, distracting the man from the finger massaging around his hole. He bends and kisses Will’s spine again, while pushing the tip of his finger in, just a little.

Will gasps but doesn’t say anything. He wants more. It’s not _too_ uncomfortable. It’s weird – he never did that to himself - but he is eager for more.

Hannibal pushes farther while checking for any negative responses. There are none. Lecter’s finger is slick enough and it’s easy for him to withdraw. Then, he pushes in again, and Will tenses slightly but he takes a deep breath and relaxes after a second.

Hannibal massages Will’s ass with his other hand, while pushing in and out with one finger. Occasionally, he kisses Will’s back or thigh, until he withdraws his hands completely and pours the lube on his two fingers.

He pushes in one, still trying to distract the man underneath with gentle stroking, and after a moment adds the second. Will grunts softly, the fingers breach him, and he tenses.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“Uh, no. No, don’t stop. I want… uh”

“Raise your hips, honey”

Will can’t help but smile at the appellation and he follows the instruction. Hannibal snakes his hand under Will’s body and squeezes his cock; he pumps it a few times and bends to place a kiss on Will’s entrance. Then he pushes the finger in again, and after a moment adds the second, this time stroking Will’s cock for distraction.

Will whimpers and allows the fingers inside. It still feels strange and new but with Hannibal’s hand on his cock and with the special care he’s given, he starts feeling safe and eager.

He moans softly when Hannibal pushes deeper and the pace quickens a bit. It doesn’t last long, just long enough for Hannibal to stretch Will and prepare for something bigger.

It’s the second time Will thanks God Lecter is not _too_ well-endowed but fairly average (maybe slightly bigger than average). He hopes it will not be too painful, although he’s not deluding himself. He knows sex is different in pornos he’s watched and he’s getting a real deal now. He sighs contently that he’s finally able to get a taste. And with a man he really likes and trusts.

Hannibal kisses Will’s spine again and his ass and he withdraws his fingers. He turns Will on his back again and seeing Will smile at him, he smiles back and bites the man’s hip playfully.

Will laughs and spreads his legs for Hannibal, who moves up to kiss Will. There is reluctance at kissing the man who just licked his asshole but Will overcomes it and lets himself be kissed.

Hannibal grabs Will’s legs in the place where they bend in the knees and lifts them enough to reveal Will’s entrance. Will never breaks the kiss and wants to feel Hannibal’s lips on his while the man will breach him with his cock. But this doesn’t happen instantly; Lecter takes his time in caressing Will’s body and enjoying the moment. Will smiles because he too believes that waiting can be often more exciting than the event itself.

And the event starts now.

Hannibal reaches again for the drawer in the nightstand and takes out a small square packet, which he then opens and throws a glance at Will, who blinks in silent permission. Lecter rolls on the condom and moves to lie between Will’s thighs again. He pours a great amount of lube on his cock and then strokes it. He rubs the head gently against Will’s hole and teases. Will tenses for a moment but then feels Hannibal’s palm on one cheek and a kiss pressed to the other.

The head is pushed inside and Will gasps. He turns his head to catch Hannibal’s lips, while Lecter moves his hips to keep stretching Will.

It’s average, slightly bigger than average, but it’s still big enough for Will to cry out softly, it’s still bigger than the two fingers. Hannibal sees Will’s discomfort and withdraws slowly, pulls out completely.

Will’s breath is shallow when he speaks.

“Uh, no… no, get back inside… I want you to…”

Hannibal kisses Will’s forehead and cheek and shifts on the bed.

“Turn to your right side” Lecter whispers and Will blinks.

Are they not going to continue?

Will does as he’s told and shifts to lie on his side. After a moment he feels short hair brush his back and a warm chest pressing against him. Hannibal kisses his shoulders and strokes his thigh. He bends the whole leg and lets it reveal Will’s hole. He takes hold of his own cock and pushes the head back inside.

Will gasps and Hannibal keeps kissing his spine and shoulder blades, while his hands caress Will’s hair and hip. He presses further and this time Will gives in. Hannibal’s cock disappears in Will’s body, centimetre for centimetre, until it is buried completely. Then, Hannibal makes a pause; he doesn’t move, just keeps kissing Will and touch him with his palms.

Will shifts gently and feels the man’s dick inside him, filling him. He smiles.

Lecter moves his hips a bit, just enough to indicate he’s still inside and then he starts withdrawing. He doesn’t pull out completely, he leaves the head in, and he starts pushing inside again.

He reaches for Will’s cock, begins stroking it in a slow rhythm, all the while kissing Will’s back.

Hannibal is all around him, he’s reaching him from all the sides and Will feels engulfed in the dream. He’s being touched from the front and from behind and inside. He couldn’t feel more explored and he couldn’t surrender more.

He grins and closes his eyes; he’s happy. Hannibal moves behind him, he keeps pushing in and out and in the back of Will’s head a pleasure is formed. He hopes Hannibal doesn’t mind him just lying here and waiting to be touched. He hopes Hannibal is taking pleasure from this, too.

But he does move his ass slightly to check if he can derive more satisfaction. He wants more and Hannibal laughs behind him. He pushes harder and Will moans.

Will grasps Hannibal’s hips and Lecter offers _more_. The moves of his hips become less calculated, less predictable. _Now_ is the moment of the carnal passion, now is the moment Will was wondering if it ever happens, if it exists for him.

Hannibal’s thrusts become shallow and Will can not only hear but also feel the grunts form the man behind him. The moves of Lecter’s hand on Will’s penis also lose reservation and Will throws his head back in a moment of utter bliss.

He’s close, he knows the feeling and there seems to be nothing new or strange about the fact. Yet he whimpers, breathes out loudly and reaches with his arm behind, to grab a handful of Hannibal’s hair. He pulls on the now sweaty strands and feels sharp teeth on his neck.

The climax is not unexpected and the intensity of it is nothing out of ordinary. Will would be disappointed if not for the fact that this was his first time and he _is_ lightheaded, while Hannibal keeps pounding into him, though with less force and more velocity.

It doesn’t last long, either, as Will’s muscle clench around Hannibal’s cock and the pressure make him come as well.

Their bodies shake and Will is grateful for the bed underneath him as he feels weak and completely immobile now.

Lecter presses a few kisses to Will’s neck and pulls out only a moment after.

“I’ll be back in a second, sweetheart” he whispers.

Hannibal gets up from the bed and goes to the bathroom. He gets rid of the condom and washes his hand. Then he fills a bowl with warm water and grabs a towel. He returns to the bedroom and kneels beside it, facing Will.

Lecter wets the towel and cleans Will’s hands and chest. He lets the man lie while he shifts the duvet upside down so that the mess they made would not be covering them.

Hannibal takes the bowl and the towel back to the bathroom and quickly sneaks into bed with Will. He embraces him but Will moves and buries his head in the older man’s chest. They reek of sex and hotness and… oddly enough, affection.

Hannibal strokes Will’s damp hair and moves them out of his forehead to kiss it gently.

Will wonders if they should talk. He wants to tell Hannibal it was amazing and that he loves him but… he doesn’t say anything. They lie in complete silence and devour the oxygen, tightly pressed to each other. They close their eyes and in a second they’re asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [the song Will is playing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMhZ8IImz8c)


	15. Chapter 15

Will opens his eyes and is greeted by the sight of Hannibal’s neck. His hand is thrown over the man and rests on the man’s belly. Will blinks.

He doesn’t face the window but he can swear it’s already late and it’s sunny outside. Finally.

Will moves his hand gently, not to wake Hannibal, but when he does, Lecter grabs the hand and kisses it. Will frowns and watches Hannibal shift to face him.

Lecter smiles and kisses Will’s nose.

“Good morning, darling”

Will wants to laugh but he bites his tongue and simply grins.

“Good morning. How long have you been awake?”

“A while. I enjoyed your steady breathing upon my neck”

Now Will does laugh.

Lecter moves his hand to stroke Will’s arm and kisses Will sweetly on the lips, which makes the man smile.

“I don’t want to leave the bed today” Will whispers.

“As much as I agree and as much as I would love to spend the whole day, and night, in bed with you, while the other drink and dance, I believe we have to show up at the party”

Will sighs and tangles his finger into Hannibal’s chest hair, absent-mindedly. He receives a kiss on the head.

“Um, about last night…”

“Yes?” Lecter lifts his eyebrows questioningly and smirks.

“It was very nice”

Hannibal chuckles and caresses Will’s cheek.

“It was your first time. I wouldn’t assume it was the best sex ever but we’ll practise and with time I hope you wouldn’t dare to imagine doing it any other way with any other person”

 _We’ll practise_. Will grins and Hannibal offers him one more peck before he gets up from bed. He looks for a pair of comfortable pants and a sweater and then looks back at Will, who is still lying in bed; this time there is evident worry on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Hannibal asks.

“I, uh, I’m getting nervous to meet more of your relatives”

Hannibal rolls his eyes.

“Don’t overthink this, honey. They’ll love you. And it will be only a few more people”

Will rolls off the bed and opens the wardrobe to find clothes for himself. Hannibal steps behind him and embraces him.

“I’ll be standing right beside you” Hannibal whispers in Will’s ear “I cannot wait to see you in the evening. All dressed up and looking like a prince from a fairy tale”

“Um… you’re putting a lot of pressure right now”

“Forgive me” Hannibal kisses Will’s neck and then changes into comfortable clothes.

They descend the stairs and, indeed, it’s pretty late. It’s almost eleven and Simonetta and Robert as well as a few people all dressed up in similar uniforms are decorating the place. There is a professional cook in the kitchen and Will’s eyes widen at the sight.

He knew Lecters were noble and he was afraid of pretentiousness or mocking but the family turned out to be simple and enjoying pretty standard things. So the picture of them hiring a cook and waiters, and who knows how many other people of many different professions, weirdly surprises him now.

Hannibal seems not affected by the situation and comfortably moves around the house. He opens the fridge and only now does Will feel a stab of hunger, which his stomach is courteous to indicate with a low noise.

Lecter smiles at the man and takes out a jar of peanut butter and a few bread rolls. He makes them tea and Will spreads the peanut butter over the bread rolls. He hopes no one notice as he licks his fingers covered with the cream.

In all this chaos Will finds himself to be, he is easily reminded of his family and the one day every month he’d rather be dead. And although it’s nowhere near the constant complaining and nosiness and general rudeness, towards him and other people, Will feels his head start to pound mercilessly and hurt like he was battered with a hammer.

Hannibal sees the man’s discomfort and grabs Will’s hand.

“Come with me”

They take their breakfast with them to the library and eat it there.

“It will be like this the whole day. They will watch over the tiniest detail and there’s _always_ something not right”

Will grimaces. Is _he_ what is going to be _not right_ this time?

“We could hide in here but I thought maybe we could go to the city? I could do with a pair of new cuff links”

Will shrugs, though anything would be better than to stay in the house right now.

Hannibal tells his parents they leave to the city and in twenty minutes he’s offering his arm for Will to hold onto in the city centre. Will seems reluctant and Hannibal smiles at him. He puts an arm around Wil’s shoulders –  they look more like friends and not two guys who had sex last night – and they start walking. The snow dips under their feet and creates two pair of traces.

They pass a florist and a hairdresser. Then Will looks at the clock tower near the city hall and he knows he must look like a tourist. He’s curious about everything and Hannibal shows him a school he attended and the place he first drank alcohol. They even spot Hannibal’s friend and Lecter waves at the woman.

They sit in a small park in the city centre, which gives them an excellent view of some other places. Will listens attentively, like his students do, to Hannibal’s stories, which sound like tales from another world. Will cannot believe some of them and narrows his eyes every time he thinks Hannibal is lying to him. He’s not; his eyes say it all. He’s honest.

“Do you think that if you met me when we were younger, you’d like me?” Will asks, genuinely curious.

Hannibal tilts his head and acts like he’s considering his answer but he quickly smiles.

“I don’t want to think about it. I know you now and it’s enough. I like you now”

Will doesn’t even realises it when he’s sitting close to Hannibal and almost cuddling the man in the centre of the city.

“You know, I don’t have a return ticket” Will says quietly while Hannibal strokes his hair.

“I don’t either” Lecter admits.

“But we have to go back… Don’t we?”

Hannibal sighs. It’s obvious Will doesn’t want the dream to end and maybe to stay here, pretending everything’s just fine. It’s obvious Hannibal likes his life in the States and his freedom there. But given a chance, he might resign from that luxury if only to live happily with Will, even if here, in his family home, in the county Will doesn’t know well and doesn’t speak much language. He’d learn.

“I’m being irrational, I know” Will says with a bitter laugh before Hannibal can answer and stands up from the bench “Let’s get you those cuff links”

They walk through a narrow street and even though Hannibal’s plan was to go to the mall, he notices a beautiful beige shirt on the window display. He stops and looks at the shirt, and Will’s eyes shift from the man to the shirt.

“It would suit you” he observes.

“Me?” Lecter turns with a smirk and opens the door to the shop for Will.

They walk around the place and Will comes to the conclusion he might actually need a new shirt. He imagines all the people at the party in beautiful dresses with diamonds and rubies while he would wear a simple emerald-coloured shirt and a blazer. He browses through the shirts on the racks while Hannibal asks for the one from the display.

A blue shirt catches Will’s eye and he checks the price tag. His lips part and he is about to rush out of the shop when Hannibal approaches him with a warm smile and the beige shirt in hand.

“Try it on. I believe it should fit”

“Hannibal… I’m not really sure if…”

“Don’t you like it?”

“Um… That’s not…”

“Just try it on. I’d like to see you wear it”

Will cannot say no to this man and accepts the shirt, even though he’s not going to buy it (if the price on one shirt defines the general expensiveness of the whole shop).

He goes to the fitting room and takes off his coat and then sweater and shirt. He’s already afraid not to stain the beige with his sweat or not to tear a seam. He puts on the shirt and does all but the two first buttons. He looks in the mirror – Hannibal was right – it’s a perfect fit. It’s not too big nor too tight and it makes him look fresh and gentle. He sighs when he finds the price tag. Definitely too much for a shirt and definitely too much for his wallet.

Maybe, just maybe, if he had enough money, he’d buy it. A present for himself, from a faraway country he may never visit again. But he doesn’t have enough money.

“And…?” Hannibal asks through the door.

“It’s too small” Will lies, hoping to get away from the shop as soon as he can.

“That’s no problem. I’ll ask for a bigger one. But may I see how you look?”

“Um… No, I…”

“Will, are you alright in there?”

“Yeah, just... I don’t like it”

“Oh. All right. Let’s look for something else, then”

“No! I mean…” Will leans against the door and thinks what to say.

“Will, may I come in?”

Will grunts softly but lets the man in nonetheless. Hannibal looks at Will and his eyes glisten with pride and joy.

“You look incredible. Stunning. And it seems to fit perfectly. Where is it too small?”

“Um… it’s not”

“But you don’t like it? Are you sure? You look amazing”

Will presses closer to Hannibal in the tight space and whispers to the man.

“I didn’t bring any money”

Hannibal offers a charming smile.

“I was going to pay, sweetheart. I wanted to make it a present”

“There’s no occasion. And it costs far too much”

“I don’t need occasion to buy you a present” Hannibal kisses Will’s forehead “So you like it?”

“I’m not letting you spend this much money on one shirt”

“How about an exchange? I buy you this shirt and you will buy me cufflinks?”

“If they cost as much that’s not a solution and if they cost less that’s just not fair”

Will wonders if Hannibal makes another offer, unethical and tempting but somewhat degrading. He doesn’t. It stops at that. They return the shirt and leave the shop. Hannibal offers his arm and this time Will takes it without even realising.

“Are you ashamed of me?” Will asks shyly.

The question makes Hannibal stop and frown at Will. He blinks and cradles Will’s face with his palms to keep the man steady while he kisses him on the lips. Will has got used to the soft plump lips on his but he forgets the world everytime they kiss. He forgets the fact they are standing in the centre of the city and making out shamelessly.

“You met my parents, you’ll meet my other relatives tonight, I introduced you to my good friend and I just kissed you in the centre of the city. Is there anything else I can do to show you I’m not ashamed of you?”

Will feels guilty. There’s really nothing more that he could ask. That anyone could ask.

Will shakes his head and buries his face in Hannibal’s coat. They walk slowly to the mall and only then does Will unglue himself from Hannibal.

They enter a few shops with elegant clothing and accessories and Hannibal finally finds a pair of cufflinks. But ever since he saw Will so beautifully dressed in the beige shirt he’s been thinking about buying something for the man, to dress for the evening, so that he could show everyone how magnificent Will is.

He asks a shop assistant, while he looks for a tie, to bring him a few beige shirts. Then he shows them to Will.

“They’re almost as beautiful and they’re third as expensive. Will you let me follow my whim and spoil you a little?”

Will sighs in surrender and nods. He tries on a few shirts and they finally decide on one.

“What ties did you bring?” Lecter asks, looking at Will wearing the chosen shirt.

“Um… only one. Dark gray”

“Hmmm… it’s not a good match”

“It will have to do”

“No” Hannibal says with a grimace “I’ll lend you one of mine”

Will sighs with relief; he was afraid Hannibal would buy him also a tie. They pack the things into the trunk and drive back home.

*******

It’s getting dark and Will buttons up his new shirt in front of the huge mirror. The bedroom is dimly lit and the fire is burning so it’s fairly warm.

Will looks at the tie lying on the bed and rolls his eyes. Lecter left it for him to match the shirt but Will can see a place where a new price tag was ripped off and he sighs – Hannibal bought a tie after all.

Will places it around the collar and at that moment Hannibal emerges from the bathroom. His hair is combed and he’s wearing a purple shirt and dark blue trousers. He smiles at Will and approaches him. He places his hands on the tie’s ends and helps Will tie it.

“I agreed only for the shirt” Will says and Hannibal smirks.

Lecter smooths the tie and the shirt and looks at Will with admiration. He doesn’t reply; he just kisses Will’s cheek and Will feels the scent of mint.

They put on their jackets and descend the stairs.

Robert is sitting on the couch in the living room, impeccably dressed in a tuxedo and a white shirt and Simonetta is wearing a crimson dress with what Will guesses are rubies.

“You look stunning, mother” Hannibal says and sits next to Robert.

Will also compliments the lady and takes a seat next to Hannibal. He starts wondering. What name will Hannibal use to introduce Will to the guests? Will he say it’s his boyfriend? Or just Will?

He doesn’t have time to worry about that because the first guests arrive.

It’s eight o’clock and it’s completely dark outside so it’s easy to spot the cars driving up. Will looks through the window and then checks again his clothes. Does he fit here? In the company of noble, rich and elegantly dressed people.

Hannibal takes him by the hand and leads them to the door to greet the guests.

In about twenty minutes everyone’s in the living room and making conversations. There’s Hannibal’s cousin with his wife (their child was left with a babysitter), there’s Hannibal’s friend from elementary school with his husband, there are a few of Simonetta and Robert’s friends and there is, of course, aunt Cecilia.

Hannibal steps close to the aunt and kisses her cheek.

“Auntie, I’m proud to introduce you to my beloved Will. Will, this is my aunt Cecilia. She was the one who took me under her wing in France”

“I’m honoured to meet you, ma’am” Will says and kisses the lady’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure. Hannibal told me about you. I was hoping to meet you”

Will blushes slightly and nods courteously.

They move next to the fireplace and takes a glass of wine each. Hannibal tells Cecilia what he and Will were doing for the last few days (leaving the sex aside) and shares a few stories from the States.

Later Hannibal introduces Will to the friend from his youth. She’s a bit shocked Hannibal has a boyfriend but she acts happy and says she hopes to get a wedding invitation. That makes Will blush further and look away shyly.

All the conversations are in Hannibal’s native tongue and so Lecter has to translate most of the things to Will, who understands only bits and pieces. He’s learnt only the most basic words and expressions.

They sit at the table at nine and again Will is reminded of his family gatherings. He sits next to Hannibal and hopes he won’t be scolded for holding the man’s hand under the table if he feels uncomfortable.

It turns out he doesn’t have to. Everyone is polite and everyone smiles at Will. He’s like a new toy, like a new puppy in the house. Everyone seems smitten with him and the fact that he is from another country and speaks another language enhances the fascination.

Hannibal seems a bit embarrassed a few times and he refuses to translate some words at the time; he promises to do that later, when they’re alone.

Around eleven the music starts and some people go dancing. Hannibal raises his eyebrows in a silent question but Will squeezes his hand to indicate he wants to stay by the table a moment longer.

Will sips on the wine and Hannibal offers him another piece of pie. Will is happy to devour it and he blushes furiously when Lecter wipes his chin to remove a smudge of chocolate.

Hannibal finally takes Will by the hand and leads them to the living room. Will is amazed seeing Simonetta and Robert dragging their feet on the floor, like they were teenagers again.

Hannibal kisses Will’s hand and places it on his shoulder. They start dancing, slowly, enjoying the music and the friendly atmosphere. Will looks into Hannibal’s eyes, his affection evident, and feels like he’s falling in love with the man. Not that it’s new to him; he’s felt like that many times with Lecter. It’s just that tonight is special.

It’s New Year’s Eve, a day Will got used to spending alone, in his flat, watching movies or reading books. And he didn’t mind. Sometimes he went out and spent the countdown in the centre; some other times he simply went to sleep to wake in the next year.

And he can’t quite believe he’s spending the New Year with someone, at a party (to be exact), in a foreign country.

He looks at the clock and smiles.

A waiter prepares to open a bottle of champagne and Will wonders if he can openly kiss Hannibal, in front of all these people.

A minute to midnight. Everyone is excited and everyone gathers in the living room. People look at one another and continues chatting while glancing at the clock every few seconds.

Thirty seconds to midnight Will feels a hand move from the small of his back and grab his hand. Hannibal squeezes Will’s palm and turns to smile at him sweetly.

10! 9! 8!

Will feels his heart pound loudly.

7! 6! 5!

He can’t hear anything apart from his heartbeat.

4! 3! 2! 1!

“ _Happy New Year_!!!” everyone yells and people start hugging and kissing one another.

Will turns to Hannibal and they clink their glasses with champagne. They sip the bubbly liquid and then Hannibal leans in to kiss Will’s cheek.

One.

“Happy New Year, Hannibal” Will says, loud enough for the man to hear.

The other one.

“Happy New Year” Hannibal replies, softly, his voice somehow deprived of the heaviness of his accent.

The first cheek again.

“I love you” this time it’s a whisper Hannibal wants to keep only between them two.

Will’s eyes widen and he doesn’t know what to do. The world around him stops and he’s experiencing the slow motion again. His heart skips a beat before it continues to pound loudly in his chest. He feels like his shirt is too small now, pressing to him too tightly, and not because he ate too much.

Hannibal looks him in the eyes and there is nothing else, nothing else matters.

Seeing Will’s bewilderment, Lecter leans in for a kiss, this time on the lips, and whispers again.

“You don’t have to say it back. Not until you’re absolutely sure”

“Are _you_ absolutely sure?”

“I’ve been for some time”

Will closes his eyes.

“Do you want to go someplace quiet and talk?” Hannibal asks.

“No” Will finishes his drink and takes Lecter by the hand “I don’t want to talk”

They resume dancing, like a few other people in the room. Will places his head on Hannibal’s shoulder and he wishes the night passes just like that. He wants to stay in a warm embrace with the man and doesn’t want to open his mouth to speak again.

They move slowly, almost sleepily and then have another glass of champagne. The change in Will’s behaviour is somewhat detectible but no one pays special attention to it. Or maybe Will just doesn’t notice.

The party doesn’t last long after midnight.

Will manages to drink one more glass and then the guests gradually leave. Till one in the morning there is only four people left in the house. Hannibal looks at Will, takes him by the hand and leads to their bedroom. He takes off the jacket and watches Will do the same. They both sit on the bed and wait.

Finally Will turns to face Lecter and takes a deep breath.

“We can talk now. I know what I want to ask”

Hannibal nods and Will counts on his usual honesty.

“Tell me about your last partner. What happened?”

Hannibal sighs, there’s sorrow in his eyes, but then he chuckles.

“Not the best question after my confession of love for you. Why does it even matter?”

“Your father told me it was difficult for you to get over it. And that he was afraid you feel so strongly about me. He doesn’t want me to hurt you”

“I don’t want you to hurt me, either” Hannibal comments.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page. So will you tell me what happened?”

Hannibal sighs, nods, reaches for Will’s tie and loosens it.

“I will”

He throws the tie on the floor and takes care of his own. Then he takes off his shoes and looks at Will, who follows suit. He lies on the bed and extends his hand for Will to take and lie beside him. Will does.

Hannibal starts stroking Will’s hair.

“There was a man, Kyle, I met him at a party, already in the States. We talked, drank and I gave him my number. He called after two days, we went out on a date. It was great. We really hit it off and I really, really liked him. He was handsome, funny”

Will begins wondering what made Hannibal fall for him. He’s not funny. He’s not…

“We were seeing each other for some time, I even considered bringing him here. We made mutual friends and everyone was expecting us to get married eventually”

Hannibal sighs, bends a little to inhale Will’s hair.

“And I did buy a ring. I was going to propose. I told my father we might come and announce the engagement”

Will reaches for Hannibal’s hand and squeezes reassuringly. He partly regrets asking the question.

“I was working at the lab at the time and one night I had to leave to work, emergency and all that, and I realised I forgot something, a notebook or whatever, I don’t remember now. So I returned home and there he was, Kyle, and some other guy, in our bed, fucking”

Will caresses Lecter’s hand and is actually shocked at Hannibal’s words; he never heard the man say ‘fuck’.

“I’m so sorry” Will whispers.

“He kept apologising, saying it was a mistake, that he shouldn’t have done it. At first I didn’t want to listen but I really liked him. I convinced myself I needed time and I might forgive him. And then we’d be happy again. And after some time I did tell him I would give him another chance and we started rebuilding the relationship. But I knew we wouldn’t make it as soon as he tried to touch me. I just… Everytime he wanted to kiss me I saw this other guy in the back of my head and I knew I would never trust him again”

There is a moment of silence, Hannibal keeps stroking Will’s hair and Will massages Hannibal’s palm.

“Then I lost my job at the lab and he left me. He said there was no point in trying to fix something that was broken but later it turned out he was with me because of my money. So there was no relationship to begin with”

“Oh jesus. I’m so sorry. What a dick” Will says, angry now.

How could anyone take advantage of such a sweet and caring guy like Hannibal?

Lecter chuckles and moves his hands lower, to caress Will’s arms, tickle his sides, and finally rest them on the man’s belly. He bends his head to kiss Will’s forehead and then cheek, finally meeting his lips.

“Any more questions?” Hannibal asks upon Will’s lips.

Will shakes his head and catches Lecter’s lips in a passionate kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

They buy the plane tickets for January 3rd. So it leaves them two more days at the mansion.

Will expresses his gratitude to Lecters for letting him visit and Hannibal shares a few more stories. They visit Mischa in the hidden garden one more time and Will makes a few important decisions there.

He buys a few souvenirs at the airport and they return to the States in the afternoon. They split, they need to unpack, and Will is happy to have some time for himself. He eats some ice cream, writes an entry in his diary, checks his phone.

His cousin called him twice but didn’t leave a message; nothing important then.

Will prepares materials for school and watch a bad movie on tv. He has to readjust to the time zone.

Before going to sleep, he texts Hannibal and says he misses the man.

‘I miss you, too, sweetheart’ comes the response and Will grins at the display.

*******

The first day of school is chaos, as usually after a break. The corridors are loud again and Will, even though his head starts to hurt, cannot withhold a smile. He missed this. However nice it would be to spend the rest of his life in the hidden garden many miles away, he’d always miss this.

Will is friendly, probably too friendly because he easily forgives the students who didn’t do what he asked before the break. He smiles a lot and laughs at the bad jokes of his colleagues.

He’s wearing the beige shirt Hannibal bought him on the New Year’s Eve and he causes quite a stir. He hears a few things, rumours really, about what might happened during that break and it makes him chuckle.

“I remember when we had a break, we misbehaved but when I hear those kids’ stories… man, they really grow fast now” Hannibal says in the teacher’s room and everyone present laughs.

Will smiles gently and blushes, thinking how he never did anything bad during breaks and he seems to be catching up now.

*******

“So I thought you could pick me up at half past one?” Will says on the phone with Hannibal, while looking into the fridge.

“Certainly. Will you put on the beige shirt?”

Will rolls his eyes.

“You wouldn’t be able to take your eyes off me” Will chuckles.

“So true” Lecter says in a low, dark tone.

“Um, but don’t wear anything too…noble”

Now Hannibal laughs.

“A shirt and a blazer. Nothing extraordinary”

“Good. Hold on. Someone’s calling me. My cousin. I’ll call you back in a second. Maybe he wants to cancel”

“Will?”

“Hi, how are you?” Will says, probably too cheery.

“Fine… Have you been drinking?”

“No, why?”

“No reason. Listen, I’m calling because Rebecca is going to come with her boyfriend and I thought there is no room for so many people at grandma’s. So we’ll meet at our place, all right?”

“Um, okay”

“Nothing else changes, the date remains the same”

“Sure. So I’ll see you then”

The cousin hangs up and Will groans. Great. His cousin wants to show off his house that Will has seen only once on a photo. Will dials Hannibal’s number.

“Are we still going?” Lecter asks.

“Yup. Just somewhere else. My cousin’s place. It turns out I’m not the only one to bring a boyfriend so a change of venue was necessary”

“But did you tell him?”

“No, of course not. I’m counting on a scandal” Will says with a smirk and Hannibal chuckles.

*******

January 17th, two p.m.

Will and Hannibal are standing before the door to a house in the suburbs. A white, beautiful house with a garden; the smell of some pink and red flowers fills the space around the building.

Will takes a deep breath and already hears the laughter inside the house.

Hannibal rings the door bell and turns to Will.

“It will be fine, honey. Don’t worry” he kisses Will’s temple and places a hand on the small of Will’s back.

The door opens and a slim nicely dressed woman frowns when she sees the two men.

“Will. Um, please, come in”

Will smiles, takes Hannibal’s hand and steps inside the house. They take off their shoes and coats and go further inside. There is grandma sitting by the table, a few younger people –Will’s cousins and their spouses, there are a few kids.

Everyone stops what they are doing and glances at Will and his companion.

“I know I didn’t warn you I’d bring someone but I guess you’ll find one more chair for my boyfriend?” Will asks politely and then points at Lecter “This is Hannibal, everybody”

Almost everyone, except the children, frowns and there is general awkwardness and embarrassment engulfing the room. Will doesn’t care and smiles at Hannibal, who kisses grandma’s hand – she’s the oldest and this is the rule of savour vivre.

They take their seats on the end of the table, in the corner, somewhere they won’t bother anyone.

Will feels everyone’s eyes on them but he couldn’t care less. Hannibal’s hand is holding his under the table and Will remembers all those times when he wished something like that happened.

They eat dinner and no one poses any questions towards Will or Lecter. The family seems more interested in Rebecca and _her_ boyfriend.

Will is happy no one has yet offended nor exiled him.

Rebecca tells grandma the story of how she met her boyfriend and Will’s cousin and his wife explain where they spent New Year’s Eve.

Suzie, Will’s cousin’s daughter, looks at Hannibal and smiles. She makes funny faces and then asks.

“Where did you spend New Year’s Eve?”

“Far away, in my family house” Lecter says.

“In Europe. Hannibal has a huge house, it looks like a castle” Will cuts in.

“Were you there, too?” Suzie asks.

“Yes. We had a ball”

“We had a ball, too. I was dressed as a princess. Were you dressed as a prince?” Suzie’s eyes widen in excitement.

Will chuckles and looks shyly at Hannibal.

“He was” Lecter answers confidently.

“Wow. Were you dressed as a prince, too?”

“He was” Will says instantly.

“Suzie, please be quiet, I can’t hear Rebecca” Suzie’s mother says.

“But Will was on a ball! And he was dressed as a prince!”

Suzie’s mother, Amanda, frowns at Will and Hannibal and stuffs Suzie’s mouth with a piece of carrot to keep the girl quiet.

Then Brian, Suzie’s brother, looks at Hannibal and speaks to Will.

“He is your boyfriend?”

“Yes” Will answers calmly.

“But you’re a boy”

“Boys can have boyfriends, too”

“Can _I_ have a boyfriend?” Brian asks.

Will looks around to check if his cousin is listening and answers.

“Of course you can. A boyfriend or a girlfriend is a person you really like. And who likes you, too. Or even love”

“I like Nicole from my school” Brian says.

“Does she like you, too?” Hannibal asks.

“I don’t know. I think so”

“Ask her” Will says, laughing internally because he would never take his own advice.

“I’ll go fetch the cake” Will’s cousin says loudly, looking at his son “Will, can you help me?”

“Sure”

Will and Adam go to the kitchen and the moment they enter the room, Adam closes the door behind them.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Adam asks, crossing his hands on his chest.

“What do you mean?”

“First, you bring a complete stranger to my house. Then you say he’s your boyfriend and my kids listen to this bullshit”

“It’s not bullshit. He _is_ my boyfriend. And your kids won’t catch a gay disease just because they see us together”

“You’re messing with their heads”

“They’re _not_ going to turn gay just because they see me and Hannibal. It doesn’t work like that. And we haven’t done anything wrong; we haven’t kissed or touched in front of them. In front of any of you”

“What does that even mean _he’s your boyfriend_? And Europe? Is that why you didn’t answer my calls?”

“Yes. Hannibal took me to Europe, to meet his parents, who treated me like their own son. And for a moment I hoped that _my_ family would like to meet the man I love, as well. Clearly, I was wrong. You can’t do as much as at least tolerate the fact that he’s my partner because he has a dick”

They hear knocking at the door and Hannibal steps inside.

“Forgive me but you were not coming and I thought that maybe you needed help”

Will sighs and smiles at Hannibal.

“I think we might need to be going. I feel full”

Lecter nods and grabs Will’s hand. They go to the hall to take their coats and put on their shoes.

Suddenly, Suzie runs towards them.

“You’re leaving?” she asks.

“Yes, princess”

“But I wanted you to tell more about the ball!”

“I’ll send you pictures from the next one” Will assures.

“Can you take me with you?”

“It’s too far, princess”

Suzie looks disappointed and Will’s heart almost breaks at the sight. He crouches to hug her tightly and whispers something in her ear. Then he stands up, smooths his coat and takes Hannibal by the hand. They leave.

*******

Later that evening they are sitting on Hannibal’s couch; Will curled up to Lecter and stroking his belly. They are watching tv.

“I knew it was a bad idea. That was naïve of me to hope they would accept us”

Hannibal kisses Will’s hair.

“And I mean now you see how I look after those family gatherings. Just instead of you there is a pile of ice cream”

Hannibal chuckles softly, massaging Will’s skull.

“I’m not going to see them again” Will states confidently “I don’t know why I haven’t made this decision yet. Maybe I’m a masochist”

Hannibal remains silent and keeps soothing Will with just the touch.

“Will you say something at last?”

“Sweetheart, you had a long day. You’re angry. You’re disappointed in your family and it’s understandable” Hannibal says in a low, slow tone, trying to calm Will.

“Of course I’m angry! My, so called, family have always treated me like someone worse, like a failure, like…” Will grunts out of annoyance “And when I’m finally happy, when I want to show them a man who loves me for who I am, they do nothing else but continue to torment me. My cousin accused me, well… us, of showing his children a bad example!”

“I heard that” Hannibal confesses.

Will grunts again and then realises something.

“You heard?” he asks.

“Yes. I went to check on you and heard you and your cousin yell”

“And you just waited by the door?” Will blinks “You decided eavesdropping would be a better idea than to stop this farce?!”

“I heard you say you loved me and that threw me off balance. But I walked into the kitchen a second after that”

Will sighs. He’s not angry at Hannibal. He’s angry at his family. And he knows when people are angry they do stupid things.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to take it out on you”

“I know”

Will chuckles and Hannibal frowns.

“So I spoilt the great moment” Will says and lifts his head to look at Lecter.

“No. I’ll act like I didn’t hear that”

Will laughs openly now and sits up, looking straight into Hannibal’s eyes.

“Hannibal…”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

Will leans in and kisses Lecter sweetly.

“I’m hungry”

Hannibal chuckles and straightens up on the couch.

“I thought you were full”

“That was a few hours ago” Will says as if it was the most obvious thing that he’d be hungry again.

Hannibal goes to the kitchen and takes out a few slices of bread, a packet of butter, tomatoes, cucumbers and chives. He’s standing by the counter and makes sandwiches, while Will puts the kettle on the stove.

While he waits for the water to boil, Will stands behind Hannibal and snakes his hands around the man’s waist. He embraces him gently and kisses Lecter’s neck.

“I love you” Will whispers.

“Are you talking to me or the sandwiches?” Hannibal asks playfully.

“Hmmm”

“I love you, too” Lecter says and turns his head to catch Will’s lips in a kiss.

The kettle starts whistling and Will is about to pull away to make them tea but Hannibal grabs his hips and won’t let him go. Lecter blindly turns off the stove but doesn’t break the kiss. He leads them to the bedroom, placing kisses on Will’s lips, cheeks and neck, and there, he makes Will lie on the bed.

“I’m not complaining, but-”

“You’ll eat the sandwiches in twenty minutes” Hannibal says while unbuttoning Will’s pants.

Will laughs.

“Is twenty minutes enough of practice you once promised me?” he asks breathlessly.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this is the last chapter and i want to thank everyone who left a comment or kudos  
> especially these few people from whom i heard more than once  
> it's great seeing someone follow the story and then let me know what You think  
> so this chapter is dedicated to:  
> [Ferris_Eris](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferris_Eris/pseuds/Ferris_Eris), [ jayswing96](http://archiveofourown.org/users/jayswing96/pseuds/jayswing96), [ amberhan ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/amberhan/pseuds/amberhan), [ZessOnATeaCloud](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ZessOnATeaCloud/pseuds/ZessOnATeaCloud), [Mads_Hugh_Lover](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Mads_Hugh_Lover/pseuds/Mads_Hugh_Lover), [flawlessstark](http://archiveofourown.org/users/flawlessstark/pseuds/flawlessstark), [LoadingWorldDominationPlan](http://archiveofourown.org/users/LoadingWorldDominationPlan/pseuds/LoadingWorldDominationPlan), [Polanetta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Polanetta/pseuds/Polanetta)

A week before Valentine’s Day Will prepares poems for the students to interpret. The pupils start talking about their plans for the big day and Will has some hopes, too. He’s sitting at his desk, looking through the window, when someone in the classroom speaks.

“How about your Valentine’s plans, Mr. Graham?”

Will blinks and is back in the reality.

“I, uh, I’m not sure yet”

“But are you dating someone? Or are you meeting with your friends?”

“Um… I am. Dating someone”

There are whistles and applause somewhere in the back of the room and Will rolls his eyes.

“Is she also a teacher?” someone asks.

"Um...." can he say simply ‘yes’? Or can he say ‘yes, _he_ ’s a teacher’? “Have you finished copying from the blackboard?” he asks instead.

*******

During a pause Will stays in the classroom and eats a banana when a woman walks in.

“Sophie!” Will smiles upon recognizing the woman.

“Hello, Will” the woman steps closer and they hug “You’ve changed. You look different”

Will shakes his head and points at a chair for the woman to sit in.

“How have you been? Can you believe I didn’t know you were leaving us. Not for a maternity leave”

“Well, I wanted to keep it a secret and not make myself any promises”

“Why?”

“I lost a baby once”

Will places a hand on the woman’s shoulder and offers a reassuring touch.

“I’m so sorry”

“Thank you. But I’m okay now. We have a son”

“I’m so happy for you. What did you name him?”

“Thomas. My husband wanted to give that name since the day we got married”

Will chuckles.

“When are you coming back?”

“Well… I was thinking about prolonging the leave but then I decided I miss this”

“We miss you, too”

“So… April, maybe”

Will nods.

“I heard you managed quite well without me, that they found a suitable replacement” Sophie says with a smirk.

“I saw Hannibal’s lesson once. The pupils were really attentive”

“And I heard he’s very attractive. I asked about any affairs but, apparently, he’s focused only on work”

Will shrugs, pretending not to know anything.

“And how are you? Something new in your life? Maybe _someone_ new?”

“Um… no, business as usual”

That’s his favourite phrase. It makes it sound like his life is still and nothing ever happens.

*******

Will sits in his kitchen and eats the soup he made. He looks through the window and considers the changes in his life that took place recently.

If Sophie is going to come back from her leave, then Hannibal may lose his job. Well, it was only temporary, they knew that from the start, but…

Will feels his phone buzz in his pocket. Hannibal.

“I was just thinking about you” Will says.

“Were you? I’m flattered. What were you thinking?”

“Actually… The woman in whose place you’re working, Sophie, she visited me today and…”

“She’s returning in April” Hannibal says, calm.

“You know what that means”

“Do not worry about that, Will” Hannibal says reassuringly.

“You know I will”

“I know. But I’m hoping to take your mind off all the worries soon”

“How?” Will’s voice breaks and sounds hopeful.

“It’s Valentine’s Day next Tuesday and I’m thinking about the ways to spend it with you”

“It’s so cheesy. I always hated Valentine’s Day”

“Huh”

“But, um… maybe you could _persuade_ me to change my mind on the topic”

“I’m sure I will. Trust me”

“I do”

“Do you? So how about I come to your place on Friday, after work, and let you know all about my plan for the Valentine’s Day?”

“Can’t wait”

*******

On Friday Will cannot focus on anything other than the surprise Hannibal has for him. He’s curious, hopeful and…

He’s sitting in the teacher’s room when his phone buzzes. The display says Amanda, his cousin’s wife.

Has something happened to Adam or did he just want someone else to do the dirty work for him?

“Hello?”

“Hello, Will. Um, I’m calling to make sure you’re not bringing Hannibal for the meeting next week”

What? This is so fucked up. So straightforward and plainly rude.

“I’m not. In fact, you may cross me out of the meeting as well. For ever”

He hears the woman sigh on the other end of the line.

“Will… Are you really going to abandon your family for a-”

“Amanda, I don’t know about you, but if a family means a bunch of people who find pleasure in tormenting its members than I call pass. I need to go, I’m at work. Say hi to Suzie and Brian”

Will hangs up quickly and looks around to check if he’s still alone in the room. He sighs with relief when he discovers no one heard his conversation.

*******

Will lies on his couch with headphones in his ears and lets his fantasies flow. His brain forms beautiful images of happiness and he gradually accepts the fact that he may never see his cousins or grandma again.

The music in his ears is slow and fairly quiet so Will easily hears knocking at his door. Why hasn’t he given Hannibal the key, yet? Maybe it would be a good idea for the Valentine’s Day?

Will opens the door and is met with Lecter’s charming yet somewhat mischievous smile.

“I’m hastening the Valentine’s Day. Do you still trust me?” Hannibal asks upon entering the flat.

Will nods and grins. This man is always able to surprise him.

“Good. Now go and pack only your underwear and a pair of pyjamas”

Will does as he’s told, quickly looking for a bag to pack the things into. Hannibal seems really excited and in a hurry.

“Let me grab my toothbrush”

“There’s no time and no need. I’ll buy us new ones. Come”

Hannibal takes Will’s hand and kisses Will’s hair when the man locks the door.

“Where are we going? Why such a rush?”

“You’ll find out in thirty minutes”

Will gets nervous and stays quiet till they drive up by a huge building with the sign reading _airport_. Will swallows and frowns but remains silent.

Hannibal kisses his palm and takes out their luggage from the trunk. Will follows Lecter inside and patiently waits until they stand by the check-in saying Paris.

“Are you serious?” Will whispers.

“We’re going to visit my aunt. She’s letting us stay for the weekend”

“Oh god and I don’t have anything for you, yet”

Hannibal kisses Will’s cheek and they approach a nice lady.

*******

The flight is somewhat tiring and Will and Hannibal take a nap. They land in Paris and Will cannot express his astonishment with the city. When they land it’s already late at night but the lights make the world-wide known Paris a bright place.

Hannibal hails a taxi and they drive all the way to his aunt’s house.

It’s a few miles from the city, a place almost as quiet and isolated as Hannibal’s family house. It’s not as big, though; it’s cosy and warm.

There is also a small garden in front of it and a small vineyard at the back.

Aunt Cecilia is standing by the front door, dressed in her pyjamas already and a coat. She greets the two men and says she’s going to sleep because it’s late, so they will talk more the next day.

Hannibal leads the way to his old room where they unpack. Will looks around, stares at the beautiful drawings of insects and plants he doesn’t know.

“Did you draw them?”

“Yes. I’m a bit surprised they haven’t faded. It’s been years”

“When did you last visit your aunt?”

Hannibal sits on the bed and wonders.

“Probably too long ago since I can’t really remember. I mainly send her cards and letters”

“So why now?”

Lecter stands up and steps closer to Will.

“Do you really need to hear it?”

Will shakes his head.

They change into pyjamas and lie in bed. After a while Will hears Hannibal's steady heartbeat and he looks through the window. It makes him nostalgic. It makes him organise his thoughts.

Did he change Hannibal? In a way. Did he make him re-evaluate his decisions and his views?

It’s only fair because he seemed to have changed, too. He realised he doesn’t have to bear his family’s tortures and he can find happiness somewhere else, with someone else; someone who is currently lying beside him.

Will looks at Hannibal, engulfed in the darkness, but he doesn’t need light to know how sweetly and innocent Lecter looks right now.

Will presses his head against the man’s chest and falls asleep.

*******

Will wakes the next morning and finds the bed empty. The warmth and scent of his beloved is almost gone.

Will goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth and doesn’t find the man there. Instead, he finds a pair of new pants and a sweater. Will rolls his eyes but puts the clothes on.

He exits the room and hears people talking.

“…so it’d be a nice solution”

Will recognises the voice. Hannibal.

He enters the kitchen and sees Lecter sit by the table and talk with his aunt.

“Will! I didn’t want to wake you up and aunt wanted to catch up”

“It’s okay. Good morning”

“Good morning, dear. Are you hungry?” Cecilia asks.

Will nods shyly and Hannibal stands up. He moves a chair for Will to sit in and approaches the counter to take a plate with a bread roll and hands it to Will.

“Here you have butter, and jam, and cheese. Help yourself” Hannibal points at the very different products and sits next to Will.

“I’ll show Will around the place and in the afternoon we will go to the city. Do you need anything?”

“No, Hannibal, dear. Just go and see how things changed around here. And when you return in the evening we may finally open the bottle of wine we were supposed to open after your graduation”

They eat the breakfast and Cecilia leaves. Hannibal explains that she loves looking at the vines in the morning and that on Saturdays she meets her friends and they play chess.

Lecter shows Will the garden in front of the house and then takes the man for a walk. He describes how the scenery hasn’t changed since he was here and shows Will the places where he used to come to study.

It’s fairly cold and the rest of this year’s snow is melting slowly. Hannibal shows Will an abandoned shed in the woods and a house of his friend, with whom he now is no longer in touch.

“Why haven’t you opened the bottle of wine your aunt mentioned?” Will asks while they continue walking.

Hannibal seems to be ashamed of the story; he’s the one to avoid eye contact.

“You know, everytime you ask me a question I feel like I’ve been hiding something important from you”

“So just tell me. It’s obvious we need time to learn about each other”

Hannibal smiles at the man.

“I ran away after my graduation” Lecter says and Will chuckles; there seems to be a pattern in Hannibal’s stories “The house I just showed you? Of a friend? I ran away with him. We weren’t lovers, though I certainly hoped it would come to that. We were free spirits. I felt different with him, not burdened with responsibilities, like a child again. We ran away, but not far and it didn’t last long. I got smarter, we fought and I realised it was a mistake. I came back to my aunt but she knew I would never stay in one place and she sent me to the States. You know the rest, more or less”

Will nods, his brain forming conclusions, and they move forward.

They walk slowly, enjoying the air so different from the one in the city. Then Will spots a dog when they return to the house after noon and frowns.

“Is it your aunt’s?”

“Yes. It’s a she and she’s quite young. I believe my aunt told me about her only two years ago”

“What’s her name?”

Hannibal tangles his hand in his hair and wonders.

“Something with an ‘A’… Arette!”

The dog seems to hear because she barks and runs towards Hannibal. She nuzzles Lecter’s leg and then sniffs at Will.

“She’s lovely. I’ve always wanted to have a dog”

“Have you?”

“Yeah. My mom was allergic to them and then… I didn’t have the time and strength to keep one”

“Dogs make people happier. I’m sure you’d have found strength”

“Maybe someday”

Hannibal calls a taxi and they drive to the city. Lecter takes Will to a nice restaurant for dinner and they spend there over two hours. They talk and Hannibal shares stories from his days at university.

Funny, Will thinks when he discovers all the bad things Hannibal was mixed up in, he doesn’t seem like a naughty teenager type. But then again, he ran away from his parents. Maybe he just matured and got more responsible when he started living on his own.

After dinner Hannibal takes Will for a walk through the streets and by the shops. They even get on the top of the Eiffel Tower, where Will finds confidence to kiss the man passionately.

Then, Hannibal leads them to a bench by the Seine river. It’s late, it’s dark outside and the air is chill. Lecter embraces Will on the bench and they sit in utter silence for a few minutes.

Up until last year Will has never even left the city. And now he’s looking at the famous river in the famous city across the ocean from his flat.

Hannibal takes Will’s hand and kisses the palm. It’s pure bliss. Will forgets about all the worries, Hannibal was right about that.

Lecter’s fingers strokes Will’s and the man speaks quietly.

“Why do you not wear the ring I gave you?”

Will tenses slightly.

“It’s too big. And I wanted to avoid explaining where I got it from. But I wear it. I have it on a chain”

Will reaches under his coat and the sweater and pulls out a gold chain with the ring. Hannibal’s eyes widen – he probably wasn’t expecting Will to take it so seriously. Suddenly, they both seem to realise something.

Their love is quiet. It’s kept to themselves, even though their families know about their relationship. But they never kiss in front of other people, at least people they know. Hannibal confessed his love in a mere whisper so that only Will heard and Will said the three words in the kitchen, surrounded only by Hannibal’s warmth and the kitchen appliances.

There was no showing off, no bragging. Hannibal never told anyone he bought him the beige shirt, or that he bought him anything, for that matter. It’s not public.

And then Will remembers the stories Hannibal told him. He is reminded of every dark secret and every detail that makes Will worried again. What if…?

“Will? Is everything all right. You seem troubled”

“I am” Will admits quietly.

“Why?”

“Well, I’m wondering… your parents, your aunt… What if you run away from _me_ , too?”

Hannibal sighs, lifts Will’s palm and kisses it. He offers a warm gaze.

“This is exactly why I took you here. Will, I want to ask you something, too”

Oh god. Will’s heart starts pounding and he feels like that moment Hannibal told him he loved him for the first time. Will can’t find words, cannot think or speak; he barely remembers how to breathe.

“It may seem too early; there might be a lot of things pressuring us right now. But if I really lost my job and if I decided to return to my family home one day… Would you like to share the rest of your life with me?”

Will’s lips part.

“Are you… proposing?”

“Would you?” Hannibal demands the answer.

Will looks into the man’s eyes. He remembers how at the beginning he felt insecure and afraid their relationship was only a joke for Lecter. Then, the feeling of safety began to grow and Will couldn’t believe his luck. For the first time in his life he was happy. He even finally said to his cousin what he wanted to say for a long time. He found courage with Hannibal that he never thought was in him.

Will nods and places his palm on Hannibal’s cheek.

“I would. I want to”

Hannibal’s eyes become teary and the man shifts his head to kiss Will’s palm cradling his face.

“I don’t want to run away anymore. I’m not going to run away from you” Hannibal whispers and kisses Will, gently, on the lips.

The chill air around them, wind blowing softly, the moon probably somewhere behind the clouds.

*******

They sit on the bed in Hannibal’s old room, the glass of wine in hand. They announced their engagement to Cecilia, then talked for a while and the woman went to sleep. They moved to their bedroom.

“What time do we leave tomorrow?” Will asks.

“Around noon. I have everything planned and under control”

Will smirks and sips on the wine. His phone starts ringing. He looks at the display, sighs and answers the call.

“William, I heard you told Amanda that you’re not going to come next week”

“Next week or any other week, grandma”

Hannibal watches Will speak and tilts his head. The man doesn’t shake with anxiety, his pose is confident and voice steady.

“I don’t know what Adam said to you last time but maybe he just said it in a wrong way and you didn’t-”

“I know what he meant and there is no way he could have said it to make it hurt less or to make it sound better. I understand you don’t approve of me being homosexual, that are just you views, but that’s not going to change. And scolding me for something that can’t be changed is just pointless”

“William, you said in front of the children that the man was your boyfriend. Do you have any idea how it can affect them?”

“It could reassure them that it’s okay to love someone”

“It’s not natural for a man to love another man”

Will moves closer to Hannibal and takes his hand. He smiles sweetly at the man.

“It’s the most natural thing I’ve ever felt”

“Is there any way to persuade you it’s wrong? How can you be so blind?”

“It’s the first time I’m truly happy and I’m not giving this up. So you can all stop trying to show me how wrong I am and carry on with your lives. And let me do the same” Will feels bold enough to say what’s on his mind “Just before I hang up I have news for you. Hannibal isn’t my boyfriend anymore. He’s my fiancé”

Will hangs up, mutes the phone and throws it somewhere behind himself. He embraces Hannibal and kisses him passionately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm seeing a pattern where i leave the audience to make up their own continuation  
> but i like to believe our boys will be live HAPPILY EVER AFTER <3  
> thank You for reading !!!


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